🔤 Vocabulary Bank
Build your English vocabulary — one word at a time.
429 words found — page 1 of 9
24-hour time
Beginner
/ˌtwɛntiˈfɔr aʊər taɪm/
A way to write time from 00:00 to 23:59 (instead of AM/PM).
"In 24-hour time, 14:00 means 2 PM."
abbreviation
Beginner
/əˌbriːviˈeɪʃən/
A short way to write a word or phrase, like 'PM' for afternoon.
"People use abbreviations like 'ASAP' to write emails faster."
abstraction
Advanced
/æbˈstrækʃən/
The quality of being theoretical or conceptual rather than concrete or specific
"Nominalisation increases the level of abstraction in academic discourse."
accent
Intermediate
/ˈæksent/
The way people pronounce words based on where they're from
"She has a strong Scottish accent that I find beautiful."
Accomplish
Beginner
/əˈkʌmplɪʃ/
To successfully achieve or complete something.
""We accomplished our goal ahead of schedule.""
accomplishment
Intermediate
/əˈkɒmplɪʃmənt/
A successful completion of something; an achievement
"Learning a new language is a great accomplishment."
acknowledge
Beginner
/əkˈnɒlɪdʒ/
To recognize someone or something and show you understand or accept it.
"Using someone's name when you meet them acknowledges that you care about them."
actively
Intermediate
/ˈæk.tɪv.li/
In a way that involves effort and concentration, not passively
"To improve, you should actively listen and take notes rather than just play podcasts in the background."
adaptability
Intermediate
/əˌdæptəˈbɪləti/
The ability to change and adjust to new situations
"Adaptability is a key quality employers look for today."
adjective
Elementary
/ˈædʒɪktɪv/
A word that describes a person, thing, or idea by giving information about its qualities
"In the sentence 'The red car is beautiful,' both 'red' and 'beautiful' are adjectives."
affirmative
Beginner
/əˈfɜːmətɪv/
A positive statement that says something is true
"The affirmative sentence is 'I am a student', not 'I am not a student'."
afternoon
Beginner
/ˌæf.tərˈnuːn/
The time of day from lunchtime until evening, roughly 12 PM to 6 PM.
"Let's have coffee together Tuesday afternoon."
agent deletion
Advanced
/ˈeɪdʒənt dɪˈliːʃən/
The removal of the person or entity performing an action in a sentence, often creating passive or nominalised constructions
"Agent deletion in 'Analysis was conducted' leaves unclear who performed the analysis."
ago
Elementary
/əˈɡoʊ/
A time in the past; used to show how far back something happened
"I ate lunch two hours ago."
Aisle
Beginner
/aɪl/
A passage between shelves in a supermarket or large shop
"The bread is in aisle three, next to the milk."
alphabet
Beginner
/ˈæl.fə.bet/
The set of all letters used in writing a language.
"Children learn the English alphabet in school."
always
Beginner
/ˈɔːlweɪz/
Every time; at all times; without exception
"She always arrives on time for meetings."
Ambiguous
Intermediate
/æmˈbɪɡjuəs/
Having more than one possible meaning or interpretation.
""The instructions were ambiguous, so nobody knew what to do.""
ameliorate
Advanced
/əˈmɪliəreɪt/
To make something better or improve a situation or condition
"The new policy measures aimed to ameliorate working conditions in the factory."
ancient
Elementary
/ˈeɪndʒənt/
Very old, from a long time ago in history
"Rome has many ancient buildings from thousands of years ago."
answer
Beginner
/ˈæn.sər/
To pick up the phone and respond when someone calls you
"My mother didn't answer her phone this morning."
antibiotic
Intermediate
/ˌæntɪbaɪˈɒtɪk/
A medicine that kills harmful bacteria and treats bacterial infections
"The doctor prescribed antibiotics to treat my bacterial throat infection."
anticipate
Intermediate
/ænˈtɪsɪpeɪt/
To expect something to happen; to look forward to
"I anticipate that the project will be completed by Friday."
apostrophe
Beginner
/əˈpɑːstrəfi/
A punctuation mark (') used in contractions and possessives, but not in 'my, your, his, her'.
"Don't confuse 'his' (no apostrophe) with 'his' — they're the same and never have an apostrophe."
appreciate
Beginner
/əˈpriː.ʃi.eɪt/
To recognize the value of something or feel grateful for it.
"I appreciate good music and honest people."
around
Beginner
/əˈraʊnd/
Approximately; roughly (not exactly). Used when time is not precise.
"The bus arrives around 3 o'clock."
arrives
Beginner
/əˈraɪvz/
Comes to a place; reaches a destination.
"The bus arrives at the station at 9:45."
article
Beginner
/ˈɑːr.tɪ.kəl/
A small word (a, an, the) that comes before a noun
"In English, we use the article 'the' for specific nouns."
artificial intelligence
Intermediate
/ɑːrˈtɪfɪʃəl ɪnˈtelɪdʒəns/
Smart computer systems that can learn and make decisions
"Artificial intelligence is transforming many different industries."
assertion
Upper Intermediate
/əˈsɜːʃən/
A statement that someone makes, claiming it is true, especially without providing evidence
"The politician's assertion that unemployment had decreased was challenged by the opposition."
assume
Intermediate
/əˈsuːm/
To take control or responsibility; to suppose something is true
"She will assume the role of manager starting next week."
attentive
Upper Intermediate
/əˈtentɪv/
Paying close attention to what someone is saying or doing
"An attentive listener remembers the small details others miss."
authentic
Intermediate
/ɔːˈθen.tɪk/
Real and genuine, not fake or artificial
"Listening to authentic English podcasts helps you learn how native speakers really talk."
automation
Intermediate
/ˌɔːtəˈmeɪʃən/
Using machines or computers to do work instead of people
"Automation in factories has changed how products are made."
auxiliary verb
Elementary
/ɔːɡˈzɪliəri vɜːrb/
A helping verb used with the main verb to form tenses, such as am, is, are
"In the sentence 'She is reading,' 'is' is the auxiliary verb."
backshift
Advanced
/ˈbækʃɪft/
The change of verb tense when converting direct speech to reported speech
"In reported speech, 'I am tired' becomes 'She said she was tired' — that's backshift."
bandwagon
Upper Intermediate
/ˈbændwæɡən/
A persuasive technique suggesting that many people agree with an idea, implying readers should too
"Using the bandwagon technique, the opinion piece stated 'Everyone knows that traditional education is outdated.'"
base form
Elementary
/ˈbeɪs fɔːrm/
The original, unchanged form of a verb before adding any endings.
"The base form of 'worked' is 'work.'"
Best before
Beginner
/best bɪˈfɔːr/
The date after which a food is safe to eat but may not taste as good.
"This yogurt is best before March 20th, but it's usually safe for a few days after."
beverage
Beginner
/ˈbɛvərɪdʒ/
A drink, such as coffee, tea, juice, or water
"This café serves hot beverages in winter and cold drinks in summer."
bias
Upper Intermediate
/ˈbaɪəs/
A preference or prejudice toward certain ideas that may prevent fair judgment
"The article showed a clear bias toward electric vehicles and didn't fairly address concerns about charging infrastructure."
bitter
Elementary
/ˈbɪtə/
Having a sharp, unpleasant taste
"Black coffee is quite bitter without sugar."
board
Beginner
/bɔːrd/
A dark surface in a classroom where teachers write with chalk or markers
"The teacher writes the date on the board every morning."
boarding pass
Elementary
/ˈbɔːrdɪŋ pæs/
An official document that shows your seat number and flight information
"I showed my boarding pass to the gate agent before entering the airplane."
body
Beginner
/ˈbɑːdi/
The main message or content in the middle of an email
"The body of my email explained what I needed help with."
book
Beginner
/bʊk/
An object made of pages bound together that contains information or stories
"I read an English book in the library."
bunch
Beginner
/bʌntʃ/
A group of things held or growing together, like bananas or flowers
"I'll take a bunch of bananas, please."
busy
Beginner
/ˈbɪzi/
Very occupied with things to do; not free or available.
"Thursday is busy. Can we meet Friday instead?"