Master English Vocabulary: Key Terms & Phrases

Essential English Vocabulary for Diverse Topics

Phrasal Verbs

  • Tell off: To scold
  • Bring along: To bring
  • Break out: To erupt
  • Go out: To go out
  • Come down with: To get sick
  • Sign up for: To register
  • Come on: To turn on
  • Meet up: To meet
  • Turn up: To appear
  • Stand up: To stand up
  • Make up: To invent
  • Go on: Happening
  • Give in: To surrender
  • Take over: To replace
  • Call for: To call for
  • Get at: Reaching
  • Take on: To hire people
  • Log on: To log in
  • Pick up: To pick up
  • Eat up: To devour
  • Give up: To quit something
  • Cut back on: To reduce
  • Work on: To work on something
  • Turn down: To reject
  • Keep up with: To keep pace
  • Weigh up: To consider options
  • Go for: To opt for
  • Heat up: To warm up
  • Cut down: To reduce
  • Put forward: To make a bet
  • Get across: To manage to transmit something
  • Get around: To travel
  • Check out: To obtain information
  • Check in: To register
  • Run into: To meet unexpectedly
  • Stay out: To return later than normal
  • Fill up: To fill up

Theater Terms

  • Applaud
  • Audience
  • Box office
  • Catapulted
  • Dimmed: Attenuated
  • Encore: “Another”
  • Highlight: To highlight
  • Household name: Celebrity
  • Iconic
  • Limelight: Light focus
  • Ovation
  • Performer
  • Row: Row
  • Spotlight: To highlight
  • Wings: Stage wings

Book Adjectives

  • Best-selling: Popular
  • Cutting-edge: Modern
  • Full-length: Not shortened
  • Mind-numbing: Boring
  • Page-turning: Wanting to keep reading
  • Quick-witted: Thinking fast
  • Rib-tickling: Make you laugh
  • Run-of-the-mill: Boring
  • State-of-the-art: Modern
  • Tear-jerking: Makes you cry
  • Top-quality: Best standard
  • Wheelchair friendly: Suitable for disabled people

Types of Literature

  • Biography
  • Fairy tale: Fairy tale
  • Graphic novel
  • Historical novel
  • Myth: Myths
  • Play
  • Poetry book
  • Satire
  • Self-help book
  • Short story
  • Travel literature
  • Author
  • Characters: Characters
  • Creator
  • Director
  • Main character
  • Setting
  • Type of fiction

Adverbs of Time

  • Continuously
  • Currently
  • Eventually
  • Gradually
  • Lastly
  • Lately
  • Occasionally
  • Previously
  • Recently
  • Suddenly

Business and Finance

  • The job market: Labor market
  • Management: Management
  • Marketing: Marketing
  • A market researcher: Market research
  • Market share: Market share
  • On the market
  • Qualifications
  • Salary
  • Stock market: Stock market
  • Dead-end: Dead end
  • Employer: The one who hires
  • Loss
  • Make a fortune
  • Part-time job
  • Get the sack: To be fired
  • Unemployment: Unemployed
  • A good head for business: Good business leader
  • Go out of business
  • Mean business: Serious business
  • Open for business
  • Run your own business: Run your own business
  • Start up a business
  • Calculate
  • Charge
  • Count
  • Estimate
  • Organize
  • Pay
  • Spend
  • Value

Health

  • Digestive system: Digestive system
  • Eye infection
  • Health service
  • Heart attack
  • Migraine
  • Overweight
  • Prescription
  • Stroke: Stroke

Environment

  • Air pollution
  • Coal: Coal
  • Deforestation
  • Gas
  • Global warming
  • Nuclear power
  • Oil
  • Solar panels
  • Waste: To waste
  • Wind turbines

Air Travel

  • Aircraft: Airplane
  • Arrivals: Arrivals
  • Boarding gate: Boarding gate
  • Boarding pass: Boarding pass
  • Cabin
  • Carry-on luggage: Carry-on luggage
  • Check-in desk: Check-in desk
  • Connection
  • Crew
  • Customs: Customs
  • Departures lounge: Shop
  • Terminal
  • Direct
  • First class
  • International
  • Non-stop
  • Single
  • Shuttle: Airport shuttle

Tourism

  • Accommodation
  • Cruise
  • Fauna
  • Local dishes
  • Market stall
  • Scenery: Landscape
  • Seaside: Sea
  • Vegetation
  • Waterfall
  • Breathtaking: Awesome
  • Colourful
  • Exotic
  • Lush: Luxurious
  • Luxury: Luxury
  • Mouth-watering: Mouth-watering
  • Picturesque
  • Scenic
  • Unspoilt: Virgin ecosystem
  • Tour
  • Travel
  • Trip: Short trip
  • Voyage: Long trip