🔤 Vocabulary Bank
Build your English vocabulary — one word at a time.
1214 words found — page 13 of 26
introduce
Beginner
/ˌɪn.trəˈdjuːs/
Tell someone your name and basic information about yourself.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Sofia, and I'm a teacher."
introduction
Beginner
/ˌɪntrəˈdʌkʃən/
When you tell someone your name and learn their name for the first time.
"At the party, I had a nice introduction with Tom, my friend's colleague."
inversion
Upper Intermediate
/ɪnˈvɜːʃən/
Reversing the normal word order of a sentence for emphasis or effect
"The inversion of subject and verb creates a more dramatic effect in writing."
inverted pyramid
Intermediate
/ɪnˈvɜːtɪd ˈpɪrəmɪd/
Writing style where most important information comes first, less important details come last
"Newspapers use the inverted pyramid so busy readers can get the main idea in 30 seconds."
inverted syntax
Advanced
/ɪnˈvɜːtɪd ˈsɪntæks/
Reversing the normal word order, often used in formal conditional sentences
"'Had I known about the party, I would have attended' uses inverted syntax instead of 'If I had known.'"
invested
Elementary
/ɪnˈvestɪd/
Put money into a project or business because you believe it will succeed
"The government invested €500 million in the new railway line."
involved
Elementary
/ɪnˈvɒlvd/
Included as a participant; taking part in something
"Three people were involved in the accident."
irrealis
Advanced
/ɪˈriːəlɪs/
Linguistic mood denoting situations that are imagined, wished for, or contrary to fact
"The irrealis mood encompasses conditional statements requiring subjunctive verb forms."
irregular
Beginner
/ɪˈreɡjələr/
Not following the normal rules or patterns
"The verb 'to be' is irregular because its forms (am, is, are) don't follow typical patterns."
irregular plural
Beginner
/ɪˈreɡjələr ˈplʊrəl/
A noun that does not follow standard rules and changes unpredictably in plural form.
"The word 'person' becomes 'people,' which is an irregular plural."
irreversible
Upper Intermediate
/ˌɪr.ɪ.ˈvɜr.sə.bəl/
Unable to be changed back or undone
"The third conditional often expresses irreversible mistakes we cannot change."
irritated
Intermediate
/ˈɪrɪˌteɪtɪd/
Annoyed or made slightly angry by something small or persistent
"He got irritated when people kept interrupting his presentation."
Is it far?
Beginner
/ɪz ɪt fɑːr/
A question asking if a place is at a long distance away
"Is the hotel far from the bus station?"
issue
Intermediate
/ˈɪʃuː/
A problem or difficulty that needs to be solved or discussed.
"There's an issue with my subscription—I was charged twice this month."
jargon
Intermediate
/ˈdʒɑːɡən/
Special technical words used by people in a particular profession or field.
"Medical jargon can be confusing, but doctors use it for precision."
jingle
Intermediate
/ˈdʒɪŋɡəl/
A short, catchy tune or song used in radio advertisements or programme introductions
"I can recognize that radio station just from hearing its jingle."
job
Elementary
/dʒɒb/
The work that a person does regularly to earn money
"She has a good job as a nurse at the hospital."
job advertisement
Elementary
/dʒɑːb ˌædvərˈtaɪzmənt/
A notice from a company showing they want to hire someone for a position
"I found a job advertisement online for an English teacher."
join a club
Elementary
/dʒɔɪn ə klʌb/
To become a member of a group that meets regularly to do an activity
"I joined a chess club at university because I love the game."
juxtapose
Advanced
/ˌdʒʌkstəˈpoʊz/
To place two things side by side for contrasting effect or comparison
"The author juxtaposes eyewitness accounts with official records to reveal inconsistencies."
keep a promise
Upper Intermediate
/kiːp ə ˈprɒmɪs/
To do what you said you would do; to be reliable
"His father always kept his promises, which is why the children trusted him completely."
key information
Elementary
/kiː ɪnfərˈmeɪʃən/
The most important details or facts you need to remember.
"In your notes, write only the key information, not every detail."
lag
Intermediate
/læɡ/
When something is slow or delayed, especially video or internet connection.
"The video call is lagging so much that I can barely see your face."
lag behind
Intermediate
/læɡ bɪˈhaɪnd/
Fall behind; be slower or worse than others in comparison
"Several countries still lag behind in renewable energy adoption compared to Denmark."
landmark
Elementary
/ˈlændmɑːrk/
An important building or structure that is easy to recognize and famous
"The Statue of Liberty is a famous landmark in New York City."
Large / Medium / Small
Beginner
/lɑːrdʒ / ˈmiːdiəm / smɔːl/
Common size options for drinks and food portions
"I'll have a large coffee, please."
last week
Elementary
/lɑːst wiːk/
The seven days before this week
"She visited her grandmother last week."
last weekend
Elementary
/lɑːst ˈwikend/
The weekend that just finished; the two days (Saturday and Sunday) before today
"Last weekend, I visited my grandparents in the countryside."
lead
Intermediate
/liːd/
The opening paragraph that answers the main questions about the story (who, what, where, when)
"I read the lead and immediately understood that the mayor had announced new city plans."
lead (or lede)
Intermediate
/led/
The first paragraph of a news article containing the most important information
"I only had two minutes, so I just read the lead and found out the basic facts."
leave home
Beginner
/liːv hoʊm/
Exit your house; depart from home to go somewhere
"I leave home at 8am to get to work on time."
lede
Intermediate
/ˈlɛd/
The opening paragraph of a news article that answers the main questions about the story
"Good journalists put the most important facts in the lede so busy readers understand immediately."
legend
Intermediate
/ˈled.ʒənd/
A key that explains what the colors, symbols, or lines on a chart mean.
"According to the legend, the blue line represents 2022 data and red represents 2023."
legislation
Upper Intermediate
/ˌledʒɪsˈleɪʃən/
Laws made by a government or parliament
"The government passed new legislation to protect the environment last month."
leisure activity
Elementary
/ˈleʒər ækˈtɪvɪti/
Something you do for fun or relaxation in your free time
"Watching movies and reading are my favorite leisure activities."
letter
Beginner
/ˈlet.ər/
A character of the alphabet, like A, B, C.
"The word 'cat' has three letters: C-A-T."
let the cat out of the bag
Upper Intermediate
/let ðə kæt aʊt əv ðə bæg/
To reveal a secret or tell someone something that was supposed to be kept private
"I didn't mean to let the cat out of the bag about the surprise party."
lexical ambiguity
Advanced
/ˌleksɪkəl æmˌbɪɡjuːɪti/
When a single word has multiple meanings, creating potential confusion in interpretation
"The sentence 'I saw the man with the telescope' demonstrates lexical ambiguity—who has the telescope?"
liable
Upper Intermediate
/ˈlaɪəbl/
Responsible or legally accountable for something
"Be careful with wording—you could be liable for false claims in writing."
life experience
Intermediate
/laɪf ɪkˈspɪəriəns/
An event or situation that a person has lived through at some point in their life
"Traveling to different countries is a valuable life experience."
likely
Intermediate
/ˈlaɪkli/
Probably going to happen; has a good chance of happening
"If you finish early, it's likely you'll have time for a coffee break."
limited space
Elementary
/ˈlɪmɪtɪd speɪs/
Not much room to write; you must keep your message very short
"Because postcards have limited space, you can only write a few sentences."
linguistic interference
Advanced
/lɪŋˈɡwɪstɪk ˌɪntərˈfɪrəns/
The influence of one's native language patterns on the learning or use of a foreign language
"Linguistic interference caused the French student to say 'I have 25 years' instead of 'I am 25 years old.'"
link phrases
Intermediate
/lɪŋk ˈfreɪzɪz/
Words that connect ideas together, like 'anyway', 'so', 'basically', or 'however'
"The blog used linking phrases like 'anyway' and 'besides' to move between topics smoothly."
listen
Beginner
/ˈlɪsən/
To pay attention to sound or someone speaking
"Please listen carefully to the teacher."
listen for
Elementary
/ˈlɪsən fɔːr/
To try to hear or pay attention to a specific thing while listening.
"When you listen to the interview, listen for the person's name and job title."
liter
Beginner
/ˈliː.tər/
A unit of measurement for liquids, equal to about 2 pints
"I usually buy a 2-liter bottle of water."
live broadcast
Intermediate
/laɪv ˈbrɔːdkɑːst/
A radio or TV programme happening right now, not recorded earlier
"The football match is a live broadcast, so there might be unexpected pauses."