Citizenship Test Vocabulary Definitions: All 98 for 2026

USCIS publishes both English word lists without a single definition. You get the words and nothing else. That is why people search for citizenship test vocabulary definitions and find only the bare lists repeated back at them.

This page defines all 98 of them in plain English. Where a word is also a civics answer, that is marked, because a surprising number of them are.

The reading list holds 64 entries and the writing list holds 75. Only 40 appear on both, so there are 98 unique words in total. None of them are hard words. The difficulty is that many are names of American things a newcomer has no reason to know yet, which is what these definitions fix.

What’s New in 2026 for the Word Lists

Neither list changed. Both files still carry the revision stamp 07/14, which means July 2014.

The 2025 civics test replaced the 100-question bank with 128 questions, for anyone filing Form N-400 on or after 20 October 2025. That change applies to the civics half of the exam only.

The English half was untouched. The reading vocabulary and the writing vocabulary are the same files they were twelve years ago.

So these definitions do not go stale. Learn them once.

The 40 Words on Both Lists

These carry the most weight. A word on both lists can appear in a sentence you read and a sentence you write.

People and government

• Congress the part of government that makes laws. It has two parts, the Senate and the House.
• Senators the members of the Senate. There are 100, two for each state.
• President the head of the government and the country.
• Father of Our Country a name for George Washington, the first President.
• capital the city where a government sits. The capital of the United States is Washington, D.C.
• White House the building where the President lives and works.
• United States the country. Often shortened to the U.S.
• right something the law says you are allowed to do or have.
• state, states one of the 50 parts the country is divided into.
• people persons in general. Used in phrases like “the people elect Congress”.

The seven holidays

• Presidents’ Day February, honoring the Presidents.
• Memorial Day May, honoring people who died serving in the military.
• Flag Day June, marking the day the flag was adopted.
• Independence Day July, marking independence from Britain in 1776.
• Labor Day September, honoring workers.
• Columbus Day October, marking Columbus arriving in the Americas.
• Thanksgiving November, a harvest holiday.

Those seven are the only holidays on either list. All seven are also civics answers, so learning them counts twice.

Actions and describing words

• vote to choose someone in an election.
• pay to give money for something, such as taxes.
• come to arrive somewhere.
• can to be able to do something.
• have, has to hold or own something.
• lives, lived to have your home somewhere.
• want to wish for something.
• first number one in an order.
• second number two in an order.
• largest biggest of all.
• most the greatest number or amount.
• north the direction towards the top of a map. Canada is north of the United States.
• south the direction towards the bottom of a map. Mexico is south.
• one the number 1.
• dollar bill paper money worth one dollar.
• here in this place.

The small joining words on both lists are for, in, of, on, the, to and we. These need no definition, but they are on the list because every sentence needs them.

The 24 Words on the Reading List Only

These will never appear in a sentence you are asked to write.

• Abraham Lincoln President during the Civil War, who freed the slaves.
• George Washington the first President, and the Father of Our Country.
• America another name for the United States.
• U.S. the short form of United States.
• American flag the flag of the country, red, white and blue.
• Bill of Rights the first 10 amendments to the Constitution.
• citizen a full member of a country, with rights such as voting.
• city a large town.
• country a nation, such as the United States.
• government the group of people who run a country.
• colors what something looks like, such as red or blue.
• name what a person or thing is called.
• many a large number of.
• meet to come together. Congress meets in Washington.
• elects chooses by voting.
• do, does used to make a question, as in “What do Senators do?”.
• is, are, was, be forms of the verb to be.
• a one of something.

The remaining six are the question words: How, What, When, Where, Who and Why. They appear on the reading list and on no other list, which tells you something useful. Every reading sentence is a question.

The 34 Words on the Writing List Only

These will never appear in a sentence you are asked to read aloud.

• Adams John Adams, the second President.
• Lincoln Abraham Lincoln, President during the Civil War.
• Washington either George Washington, or the state, or the capital city.
• Washington, D.C. the capital city of the United States.
• American Indians the first people who lived in America.
• Civil War the war between the northern and southern states, 1861 to 1865.
• citizens the plural of citizen. Note the writing list has the plural, the reading list has the singular.
• flag the cloth symbol of a country.
• free not controlled by anyone else.
• freedom of speech the right to say what you think.
• taxes money people pay to the government.
• Alaska the largest state.
• California the state with the most people.
• Canada the country north of the United States.
• Mexico the country south of the United States.
• Delaware the first state.
• New York City the city with the most people.
• elect to choose by voting.
• meets comes together. Note the writing list has meets, not meet.
• and, during joining words.
• blue, red, white the colors of the flag.
• fifty, 50 the number of states.
• one hundred, 100 the number of Senators.

The seven months are February, May, June, July, September, October and November. Only seven of the twelve are on the list, and each one is there because a holiday falls in it.

Why the Citizenship Test Vocabulary Definitions Differ by List

The difference is not random. It follows the format of each test.

Reading sentences are questions, so the reading list carries the six question words. Writing sentences are statements about dates and facts, so the writing list carries the seven months and the numbers 50 and 100.

The writing list also carries more place names, because a dictated sentence often names a state or a country. The reading list carries more general words, because a question can be about anything.

Our full comparison of the two lists sets out the split in more detail.

To print both lists on one sheet, see citizenship test vocabulary PDF.

FAQ

How many words are on the citizenship test vocabulary lists?

The reading list holds 64 entries and the writing list holds 75. Because 40 words appear on both, there are 98 unique words in total. Some entries are two words, such as White House, and some give several forms, such as state and states.

Does USCIS publish definitions for these words?

No. USCIS publishes the word lists and a set of flash cards with pictures, but no written definitions. That gap is why plain-English definitions like these are worth having alongside the official file.

Do I need to know what every word means to pass?

Not strictly. The reading test checks whether you can read aloud and the writing test checks spelling. But a word you do not understand is far harder to spell from dictation, so meaning helps the mechanics.

Are the vocabulary definitions different for the 2025 test?

No. The 2025 change applies only to the civics questions, moving that test from 100 to 128 questions. Both English word lists still carry their 07/14 revision date and were not rewritten.

Verdict on Citizenship Test Vocabulary Definitions

Ninety-eight words, most of them ordinary English, and about thirty that are names of American things: holidays, states, wars and Presidents.

Those thirty are the real work. The rest you already know. Learning citizenship test vocabulary definitions is mostly learning what Flag Day is and why Delaware matters, and both of those are civics answers too, so the effort pays twice.

Read the definitions once, then go back to the reading list and the writing list and practise the words themselves. Meaning first, then spelling, then out loud.