A Glossary of Common English Words and Phrases
A
A level: An exam that you take to enter a university.
Advertisements: A notice or announcement in a public medium promoting a product, service, or event or publicizing a job vacancy.
A point: An idea.
A trace: A tiny quantity.
Alligator: A reptile similar to a crocodile.
Adrenalin junkies: People addicted to thrill-seeking.
Annoys: To make someone feel angry.
Appeal: To find interest.
Apprehensive: Worried about doing something.
Apply for a passport: Request the passport of your country.
Aren’t into: To not be interested in something.
Alibi: The proof that you were elsewhere when a crime happened.
Ashtray: A small metal or glass bowl for the ash from cigarettes.
B
Budget: A sum of money set aside for a particular purpose.
Bother: To give trouble to.
Boarding: A school that you live at.
Be in two minds: Don’t know what to do.
Be in tears: To cry.
Be in (big) trouble: To have problems.
Be on edge: Really nervous and stressed, highly tense.
Be on one’s way: To be going somewhere.
Be out of order: Is broken down.
Be out of breath: Really tired.
Be out of the championship: To be banned.
Brands: A type of product manufactured by a particular company under a particular name.
Bargains: A thing bought or offered for sale more cheaply than is usual or expected.
Browsing: Survey goods for sale in a leisurely and casual way.
Bloom plants: Producing flowers.
Banned: Officially or legally prohibited.
Blind date: When you meet someone you hadn’t seen before.
Balance diet: Food and drink in relation to health.
Body mass: A body of matter, usually of indefinite shape.
Breathtaking: Amazing.
Big: Gigantic.
Brand new: Completely new.
Bandit: A robber.
Boiler: A big metal container with a fire, used to provide hot water.
C
Chauffeur: Someone employed to look after and drive a person’s car.
Clerk: A person who works in a bank, office, or store.
Client: Someone who goes to a professional person for help.
Compete: Participate in a competition.
Cram: To fill (something) by force with more than it can easily hold.
Cautious: A careful person.
Consent: Permission.
Cliff: A steep rock face, especially at the edge of the sea.
Counterfeit goods: Fake.
Cash in: Make money from.
Criminal offence: An evil act punishable by law.
Cop: A policeman.
Coroner: An official responsible for the investigation of violent or sudden deaths.
Clerk: Administrative assistant.
Cripple: Someone who cannot move their body properly because of an injury, illness, or disease.
Crutch: A long stick placed under the arm to help a person who has difficulty in walking.
D
Dare: Be brave enough to do something.
Dull: Boring.
Disqualified: To be taken out of a competition because you broke the rules.
Doping offence: Illegal drug-taking.
Dirty: Filthy.
Drop out: To leave school or your studies.
Duchess: The wife or widow of a duke.
Disruptive: Causing disorder.
Deadline: The final date to hand in a work.
Degree: What you studied or the diploma that you receive when you finish your studies.
Do sth on purpose: To do something intentionally.
Designer label: Exclusive named brand.
E
Exploit: Make full use of and derive benefit from.
Eco-friendly: Environmentally safe.
Exhilaration: Euphoria.
Exciting: Exhilarating.
Executed: Put to death as a punishment.
F
Fiance (Fiancee): The man (woman) you are engaged to marry.
Fingerprint: A mark made by a finger showing the lines on the skin.
Fed up with: Dissatisfied.
Fast asleep: Sound asleep.
Foul: An unfair or invalid stroke or piece of play, especially one involving interference with an opponent.
For a lift: To drive someone to somewhere.
Flashlight: An electric torch.
Fool: (v) To deceive.
Fees: What you pay to go to school.
G
Get stuck: To be stuck or unable to proceed.
Gasoline/Gas: Petrol (fuel for cars).
Governess: A woman employed by a family to educate their children.
Graze: (n) A scratch or slight injury to the skin.
Guidance: Advice.
General election: An election involving all or most constituencies of a state or nation in the choice of candidates.
Give blood: Donate blood.
Go to war: Go to armed conflict between two or more parties, nations, or states.
Get on: Make progress.
Gutting: Robbing, often accompanied by burning and destroying.
H
Hairdresser: A person who washes and cuts people’s hair.
Hold a licence: Grant a license to (someone or something) to permit the use of something or to allow an activity to take place.
Hazard: Really dangerous.
Have a go: Try it.
Heading: Going in the direction of.
Hassle: Inconvenience.
Harness: To control or exploit for a purpose.
Hair-raising: Terrifying or horrifying.
Hungry: Starving.
Huge: Gigantic.
Have a say in: Give an option about.
Hand grenade: A small container filled with explosive and thrown by hand.
Hypocrite: A person who pretends to believe or feel something they do not.
I
In charge of: To be responsible.
Interested: Fascinated.
Impressive: Spectacular.
Inquest: The official inquiry to find out the cause of someone’s death.
J
Junk: Old or discarded articles that are considered useless or of little value.
Join the army: Become a member of the army.
Junk food: Kind of food unhealthy for you.
K
No entries for the letter K.
L
Lecture: Teaching style when the professor talks and the students take notes without discussion or questions.
Liven up: Make more energetic.
Lipstick: Something which women put on their lips to color them.
Liquor store: A shop that sells liquor (alcohol).
Leave out: Exclude someone.
Lawn: An area of short, regularly cut grass in a garden or park.
M
Make a will: The legal instrument that permits a person to make decisions on how his estate will be managed and distributed after his death.
Making a purchase: The action of buying something.
Make sure: Check.
Mainstream: Common, normal.
Machine gun: A gun which fires bullets quickly and automatically.
Maid: A woman servant.
Mainland: The main part of the land, not an island.
Make-up: Things like powder, lipstick, eye-shadow, etc. which women use on their faces.
Mourning: Showing great sadness and wearing dark clothes because of someone’s death.
Movie (the movies): A film (a cinema).
Mugging: A street robbery.
N
Nutrients: A nutrient substance.
Naive: Simple or without life experience.
Nursery: A children’s room.
O
Omelet: A dish of cooked eggs.
On the spur of the moment: To do something spontaneously.
Over-the-top: Excessive.
Own a pet: Get a pet.
Overdo it: To do something in excess.
Online auction sites: A public sale on the internet in which goods or property are sold to the highest bidder.
P
Pass with flying colors: If you do something such as pass an exam with flying colors, you do it very successfully.
Put pressure: Apply force to.
Put his arm around: Comfort.
Put mind to: To concentrate.
Professor: The teacher at university.
Pupil: Younger student.
Pitch black: Really dark.
Pick on: Bullying a person.
Play safe: Avoid taking risks.
Pick-up: Identify or recognize.
Push yourself: Motivate yourself.
Package: A parcel.
Parking-lot: A car park.
Pier: A platform of wood or metal, built out into the sea.
Pill: A small, round, hard piece of medicine which is swallowed.
Press: To push hard against something.
Princess: The daughter of a king or queen, or the wife of a prince.
Psychiatrist: A doctor for illnesses of the mind.
Put on: Wear.
Portrayed: Shown or described.
Pump: (v) To force liquid, air, etc. into or out of something.
Purse: A woman’s handbag.
Q
Qualify: Be entitled to a particular benefit or privilege by fulfilling a necessary condition.
R
Rely: Depend on.
Runner-up: The person who gets the second position in a competition.
Rely on: Depend on someone because you can’t do something on your own.
Radiator: Something used to heat a room; part of a heating system.
Rowdy: Noisy.
Range: (n) A place where people can practice shooting guns.
Royalist: With monarchist sympathies.
Rather: To some degree.
Running their own: Manager.
Reference: A letter to an employer describing the character and capabilities of an applicant for a job.
Rifle: A kind of long gun, usually held against the shoulder.
Ruffle: To push a hand quickly and gently through someone’s hair (often to show fondness for that person).
S
Setting up: Start a business.
Sane: Not mad.
Scared: Very frightened.
Stern: (n) The back of a boat.
Suicide: A person who deliberately kills himself or herself.
Savings account: An account that draws interest at a bank.
Soft drink: A nonalcoholic drink.
Say on: They have a voice in their country.
Stick with the status quo: Stick with the existing state or condition.
Stuntman: Person who takes the risks in a movie.
Strenuous: Really tiring.
Scaling: Climbing.
Stay in shape: To be fit.
Soaking wet: Being under the rain for a long time.
Sponsorship deals: Contract between a company and a player for wearing publicity.
Sedentary lifestyle: When you don’t do sport.
Scared: Petrified.
Scary: Terrifying.
Skip: To move in a light, springy manner by hopping forward on first one foot then the other.
Set goals: To put (something or someone) in a particular place or posture.
Scared to death: To be petrified.
Scrape through: To succeed in something but with a lot of difficulty.
Seminar: Small group discussion class.
Splash out: Spend an extravagant sum of money.
T
Truant: A student who stays away from school without permission.
Take advice: Receive guidance.
Take it easy: Relax.
Takes granted: Not value fully.
To apply for: Ask for a position.
To bully: To intimidate someone.
To expel: When you do something wrong and the school tells you to leave.
To graduate: When you finish your studies.
To retake: To do a subject again.
Tips: Suggestions.
Tired: Exhausted.
Thrilling: Exciting.
To win: Achieve a victory in a match, tournament, competition…
To beat/defeat: Achieve a victory against a player or a team.
To get through to: To move onto the next stage in a competition.
Toy with an idea: Start working on an idea but not in a very serious way.
Take on: To decide.
Think twice: Hesitate.
Thrill-seeker: Enjoy taking risks.
To crave: Strongly desire for something.
Tank: A large metal container.
Tattoo: A picture or design on someone’s skin, made with a needle.
Trailer: A caravan.
Tiring: Exhausting.
Trigger: The part of a gun which you pull to fire it.
U
Undergraduate: A university student.
Unethical: Not morally correct.
V
No entries for the letter V.
W
Wig: A covering for the head made of false hair.
Withdraw money: Take out money from the bank account.
Weigh up the pros and cons: Consider the advantages and disadvantages of something.
Willing: To be brave enough to do something.
Wide awake: Fully awake.
Wide open: Totally open.
Window-shopping: Browsing store displays.