🔤 Vocabulary Bank
Build your English vocabulary — one word at a time.
1214 words found — page 16 of 26
on the left
Elementary
/ɑːn ðə left/
On the side that is opposite to the right
"There's a window on the left side of the room."
on the right
Elementary
/ɑːn ðə raɪt/
On the side that is opposite to the left
"The door is on the right of the hallway."
on the side
Beginner
/ɒn ðə saɪd/
A separate small portion of sauce, dressing, or condiment served separately
"Can I have the dressing on the side, please?"
ontological
Advanced
/ˌɒn.tə.ˈlɒdʒ.ɪ.kəl/
Relating to the nature of being or existence itself
"The ontological argument attempts to prove God's existence through pure logic."
on track
Intermediate
/ɒn træk/
Making good progress toward a goal or finishing on time
"The website redesign is on track, and we'll launch it next month as planned."
open-ended question
Intermediate
/ˈoʊpən ˈendɪd ˈkwɛstʃən/
A question that requires a detailed answer, not just 'yes' or 'no'.
"'Tell me about yourself' is an open-ended question at job interviews."
optative
Advanced
/ˈɒptətɪv/
Expressing wishes or hopes; a feature in some languages that parallels English subjunctive
"Though archaic in English, the optative mood expressed longing: 'Would that he were alive!'"
ordinal number
Beginner
/ˈɔːrdɪnəl ˈnʌmbər/
Numbers showing order or position: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.
"Her birthday is on the 15th of August."
organize
Elementary
/ˈɔːɡənaɪz/
To arrange things in order or groups to make them clear.
"I organized my to-do list by tasks at home and at work."
origin
Elementary
/ˈɒrɪdʒɪn/
The place where someone or something comes from
"He's from Berlin, but his family's origin is Poland."
originally
Beginner
/əˈrɪdʒənəli/
At first; where something or someone started.
"He is originally from Spain, but now he lives in Canada."
Out of stock
Beginner
/aʊt əv stɒk/
When a shop has sold all of something and doesn't have more
"I wanted to buy the blue shoes, but they were out of stock."
outperform
Intermediate
/ˌaʊtpərˈfɔːrm/
Perform better than; achieve better results compared to others
"This year, our North American office outperformed all other regions in sales."
Oval
Beginner
/ˈoʊvəl/
A shape like an egg; rounded and elongated rather than circular
"This table has an oval shape, not a round one."
overall
Elementary
/ˌoʊvərˈɔːl/
When you consider everything together; in general.
"The service was slow, but overall the hotel was good."
overcast
Elementary
/ˌoʊvərˈkæst/
Sky completely covered with clouds; no sun visible.
"It's overcast today, so we might not see the sunset."
overpriced
Elementary
/ˌoʊvərˈpraɪst/
Costs too much money; more expensive than it should be
"The hotel was clean, but the rooms were overpriced for what you get."
overweight
Elementary
/ˌoʊvərˈweɪt/
Heavier than the allowed limit; your luggage weighs too much.
"Your suitcase is 5 kilos overweight. There will be an extra fee."
overwhelmed
Intermediate
/ˌoʊvərˈwelmd/
Having too many emotions or too much to handle; feeling flooded by circumstances.
"She felt overwhelmed with three projects due at the same time."
ownership
Beginner
/ˈoʊnərʃɪp/
The fact of owning or having something that belongs to you.
"My ownership of this car is shown on the certificate."
pace
Intermediate
/peɪs/
The speed at which someone speaks or something happens
"Educational podcasts have a slower pace than news broadcasts, making them easier to understand."
pace / pacing
Intermediate
/peɪs/ /ˈpeɪsɪŋ/
How fast or slow the story moves; how quickly events happen.
"The pacing is perfect — action scenes are fast, and quiet moments give you time to think."
pacing
Intermediate
/ˈpeɪsɪŋ/
The speed at which events happen in a story — whether it feels fast, slow, or balanced.
"The first half has great pacing, but the second half feels slow and boring."
package
Beginner
/ˈpæk.ɪdʒ/
A container or wrapping that holds goods for sale
"We need a new package of rice for dinner."
palimpsest
Advanced
/ˈpælɪmpsɛst/
A text or work on which earlier writing has been erased and replaced, used metaphorically for layered meanings
"Joyce's *Ulysses* functions as a literary palimpsest, with Homer's *Odyssey* visible beneath the modern narrative."
paradigm
Upper Intermediate
/ˈpærədaɪm/
a typical pattern or example showing all forms of a word
"The verb paradigm shows how 'go' changes: go, goes, went, gone."
paradoxically
Advanced
/ˌpærəˈdɒksɪkli/
In a way that seems contradictory but may actually be true
"Paradoxically, increasing security measures sometimes made citizens feel less safe."
paragraph
Intermediate
/ˈpærəɡræf/
A group of sentences about one idea, separated from other groups
"Keep each paragraph short in informal emails so it's easier to read on a phone."
paraphrase
Intermediate
/ˈpærəfreɪz/
To say something again using different words with the same meaning.
"The presenter paraphrased the report so listeners could understand better."
participant
Intermediate
/pɑːrˈtɪsɪpənt/
A person who takes part in a study, experiment, or research project
"The study included 500 participants from different countries."
particle
Intermediate
/ˈpɑːrtɪkəl/
A small word (preposition or adverb) that combines with a verb to form a phrasal verb
"In 'give up', the word 'up' is the particle that changes the meaning of 'give'."
partly cloudy
Elementary
/ˈpɑːrtli ˈklaʊdi/
Some clouds and some blue sky visible; mixed weather conditions.
"The forecast says partly cloudy tomorrow, so bring both sunscreen and a light jacket."
passion
Elementary
/ˈpæʃən/
Something you love very much and feel strongly about
"Her passion for music started when she was five years old."
passionate
Beginner
/ˈpæʃ.ən.ət/
Having very strong feelings or enthusiasm about something.
"I'm passionate about protecting the environment."
passive
Upper Intermediate
/ˈpæsɪv/
Not actively involved; just letting things happen without effort
"Passive listening is when you hear words but don't really engage with them."
passive voice
Intermediate
/ˈpæsɪv vɔɪs/
Grammar structure where the object becomes the subject; the action is more important than who does it.
"The email was sent by mistake—here, 'was sent' is passive voice."
past participle
Intermediate
/pɑːst pɑːˈtɪsɪpl/
The third form of a verb used in perfect tenses and passive voice, often ending in -ed for regular verbs
"The past participle of 'eat' is 'eaten.'"
past simple
Elementary
/pɑːst ˈsɪmpl/
The verb tense used to talk about actions that finished in the past
"I walked to school yesterday. That's past simple."
past tense
Elementary
/pɑːst tens/
The verb form used to describe actions that happened before now
"The past tense of 'go' is 'went' in the sentence 'I went to school yesterday.'"
pathos
Advanced
/ˈpeɪθɒs/
An appeal to the audience's emotions and values to create persuasive effect
"The charity used pathos by sharing stories of families in need rather than presenting statistics alone."
patient
Elementary
/ˈpeɪʃənt/
Able to accept delays or difficulties without getting angry
"My grandmother is very patient when teaching me to cook."
pay
Elementary
/peɪ/
To give money for something you want to buy
"I paid $15 for lunch yesterday."
peak
Intermediate
/piːk/
The highest point or maximum value in a chart or data set.
"Sales peaked in December, reaching their highest level of the year."
peak (verb/noun)
Intermediate
/piːk/
Reach the highest point or level; the highest point in something
"Sales peaked in December when customers bought gifts for Christmas."
peer review
Advanced
/pɪr rɪˈvjuː/
Process where experts evaluate research before publication
"The paper underwent rigorous peer review before appearing in the journal."
peer-reviewed
Intermediate
/ˈpɪər rɪˈvjuːd/
Academic research checked by other experts in the same field before publishing
"This is a peer-reviewed study, so it's been verified by scientists."
pen
Beginner
/pen/
A writing tool that uses ink to make marks on paper
"I write my homework with a blue pen."
penny
Beginner
/ˈpeni/
The smallest unit of British money; one hundredth of a pound
"This costs five pounds and ninety-nine pence."