🔤 Vocabulary Bank
Build your English vocabulary — one word at a time.
1475 words found — page 16 of 31
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."
keynote speaker
Upper Intermediate
/ˈkiːnoʊt ˈspiːkər/
The main speaker at a conference who sets the theme or opens the event
"The keynote speaker will discuss innovation in technology tomorrow morning."
key point
Intermediate
/kiː pɔɪnt/
The most important idea or message that a speaker wants you to remember.
"The professor emphasized that climate change is the key point of today's lecture."
key point (speaking)
Intermediate
/kiː pɔɪnt/
The most important idea or information you want to communicate
"The key point of my presentation is that we need to reduce costs."
key takeaway
Upper Intermediate
/kiː ˈteɪkəweɪ/
The most important point or idea that the audience should remember
"The key takeaway from this presentation is that investment in training improves productivity."
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."
lampoon
Advanced
/læmˈpuːn/
To publicly criticize someone or something in a humorous or mocking way
"The satirical show loves to lampoon political figures with exaggerated sketches."
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 night/week/month
Elementary
/læst naɪt/ /wiːk/ /mʌnθ/
Common time expressions showing when something happened in the recent past
"Last week I saw a great movie."
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."
leverage
Upper Intermediate
/ˈlevərɪdʒ/
Power or advantage you use to influence a negotiation outcome
"Having multiple job offers gave her leverage to negotiate a higher salary."
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."
loaded language
Upper Intermediate
/ˈləʊdɪd ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ/
Words or phrases chosen because they have strong emotional associations that influence meaning
"Describing a policy as 'draconian' rather than 'strict' is an example of loaded language that influences readers' opinions."
loaf
Beginner
/loʊf/
A single unit of bread baked together as one piece
"I need to buy a loaf of bread for breakfast."
local
Elementary
/ˈləʊkəl/
Relating to a small area near where you live, not the whole country
"The local news talks about things happening in our city."
location
Elementary
/loʊˈkeɪʃən/
The position or place where something is situated
"The hotel's location near the train station is very convenient."
lodge a complaint
Intermediate
/lɒdʒ ə ˈkɒmpleɪnt/
Officially make a formal complaint to a person or organization in authority.
"I decided to lodge a complaint with the airline about the delayed flight."
logical fallacy
Upper Intermediate
/ˈlɒdʒɪkəl ˈfæləsi/
An error in reasoning that weakens your argument
"Avoid logical fallacies like ad hominem attacks or false comparisons."
logos
Advanced
/ˈloʊɡɒs/
An appeal to logic, reason, and factual evidence used in persuasive communication
"The engineer's presentation relied heavily on logos, presenting data and technical specifications to persuade the committee."
longitudinal study
Advanced
/lɒŋɡɪˈtjuːdɪnəl ˈstʌdi/
Research that follows the same subjects over an extended period
"This longitudinal study tracked participants' health outcomes for over a decade."
lottery
Elementary
/ˈlɒtəri/
A game where people buy tickets and win money if their numbers are chosen
"My grandfather won the lottery and bought a new house."
lowercase
Beginner
/ˌləʊ.ərˈkeɪs/
Small letters (a-z) used in most of a sentence, except at the start.
"Words in lowercase look like this: hello, coffee, monday."
luggage
Elementary
/ˈlʌɡɪdʒ/
Bags and suitcases that you carry when traveling (uncountable)
"How much luggage can you bring on the plane?"
luggage / baggage
Elementary
/ˈlʌɡɪdʒ/ / ˈbæɡɪdʒ/
Bags, suitcases, and other containers you take when traveling.
"How many pieces of luggage do you want to check?"
luggage/baggage
Elementary
/ˈlʌɡɪdʒ/ /ˈbæɡɪdʒ/
Suitcases and bags you carry when traveling
"How much luggage can I take on the plane?"
Magnificent
Elementary
/mæɡˈnɪfɪsənt/
Impressively beautiful or elaborate.
""The view from the mountain was absolutely magnificent.""