🔤 Vocabulary Bank
Build your English vocabulary — one word at a time.
429 words found — page 2 of 9
café
Beginner
/kæˈfeɪ/
A small restaurant where people drink coffee and eat light food.
"Let's meet at the café near the train station tomorrow."
call
Beginner
/kɔːl/
To phone someone or communicate with them by telephone
"I'll call you tomorrow at 3 o'clock."
Can I help you?
Beginner
/kæn aɪ ˈhelp juː/
A greeting question shop assistants use to offer assistance to customers
"The assistant smiled and asked, 'Can I help you?'"
capital
Elementary
/ˈkæpɪtl/
The most important city in a country where the government is located
"Paris is the capital of France."
capital letter
Elementary
/ˈkæpɪtl ˈletə/
A large letter used at the beginning of a sentence or for proper nouns (A, B, C, etc.)
"Every sentence must start with a capital letter, like 'The cat is sleeping.'"
carry-on
Elementary
/ˈkæri ɒn/
A small bag that you keep with you on the airplane
"My carry-on bag contains my laptop and important documents."
carton
Beginner
/ˈkɑːr.tən/
A container made of cardboard, often used for milk or juice
"Can you buy a carton of milk from the supermarket?"
Cash or card?
Beginner
/kæʃ ɔːr kɑːrd/
A question asking how you want to pay
"'That'll be £20.' 'Cash or card?' 'Card, please.'"
casual
Beginner
/ˈkæʒuəl/
Relaxed and informal, not formal or serious.
"Friend emails use casual language like 'Hey!' instead of 'Dear Sir.'"
catch up
Beginner
/kætʃ ʌp/
To meet and talk with someone you haven't seen for a long time and share news.
"I haven't seen Sarah in months. We should catch up soon!"
caveat
Advanced
/ˈkæviæt/
A warning or qualification that limits the scope of a statement
"The author included an important **caveat** noting that results applied only to urban populations."
cents
Beginner
/sɛnts/
Coins worth less than one dollar; 100 cents = 1 dollar.
"The drink costs two dollars and fifty cents."
checked baggage
Elementary
/ˈtʃekt ˈbæɡɪdʒ/
Large bags that you give to the airline to put under the airplane
"My checked baggage allowance is two suitcases per ticket."
chronic
Intermediate
/ˈkrɒnɪk/
A disease or condition that lasts a long time or keeps returning
"My grandfather has chronic arthritis that affects his daily activities."
circumvent
Advanced
/ˌsɜːkəmˈvent/
To find a way around an obstacle or problem; to avoid something by going around it cleverly
"The company found ways to circumvent the new regulations by restructuring their operations."
clarification
Beginner
/ˌklær.ɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/
Making something clearer or easier to understand.
"I asked for clarification: did they say 'F' as in Frank or 'V' as in Victor?"
clarity
Beginner
/ˈklærɪti/
The quality of being clear and easy to understand.
"Using 'my' instead of just saying 'coffee' adds clarity about whose coffee it is."
classroom
Beginner
/ˈklɑːsruːm/
A room in a school where a teacher teaches students
"Our classroom has big windows and twenty desks."
clear
Beginner
/klɪr/
Easy to understand; not confusing
"Write clear messages so people understand what you mean."
climate mitigation
Upper Intermediate
/ˈklaɪmət ˌmɪtɪˈɡeɪʃən/
Actions taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow climate change
"Carbon taxes are one strategy for climate mitigation."
climate resilience
Upper Intermediate
/ˈklaɪmət rɪˈzɪliəns/
The ability of communities or ecosystems to adapt to climate impacts
"Building climate resilience requires planning and investment in infrastructure."
closes
Beginner
/ˈkloʊzɪz/
Stops working or shuts down at the end of the day.
"The coffee shop closes at 20:00 on weekdays."
coffee
Beginner
/ˈkɒfi/
A hot drink made from roasted coffee beans, popular for breakfast
"I'd like a coffee with milk, please."
coherence
Upper Intermediate
/kəʊˈhɪərəns/
The quality of being logical and easy to understand; how well ideas connect
"Using linking words improves the coherence of your writing."
Collaborate
Intermediate
/kəˈlæbəreɪt/
To work together with others to produce something.
""The two companies decided to collaborate on the new project.""
collocation
Advanced
/ˌkɒləˈkeɪʃən/
A natural combination of words that are frequently used together and sound natural to native speakers
"The collocation 'make a decision' is more common in English than 'do a decision,' which sounds unnatural."
Colour
Beginner
/ˈkʌlər/
The appearance of things as a result of the light they reflect (red, blue, green, etc.)
"What colour is your favourite car?"
comparative
Elementary
/kəmˈperətɪv/
A word or phrase used to compare two people or things, showing that one has more or less of a quality
"The comparative form of 'big' is 'bigger.'"
complement
Elementary
/ˈkɒmplɪment/
A word or phrase that describes the subject and comes after certain verbs like 'is' or 'be'
"In 'The weather is hot,' the word 'hot' is a complement that describes the subject."
completed action
Elementary
/kəmˈpliːtɪd ˈækʃən/
An action that is finished and happened in the past
"She finished her homework is a completed action."
comprehension
Intermediate
/ˌkɒm.prɪˈhen.ʃən/
The ability to understand something
"Regular podcast listening improves your listening comprehension skills."
concede
Upper Intermediate
/kənˈsiːd/
To admit or accept that something is true, especially something you previously denied
"The debater conceded that the government's policy had some merit, despite its flaws."
Concise
Upper Intermediate
/kənˈsaɪs/
Giving a lot of information clearly in few words.
""Please keep your answers concise — no more than 50 words.""
conclusion
Elementary
/kənˈkluːʒən/
The final sentence that summarizes the main point
"The conclusion sentence repeats the main idea in a different way."
conditional
Intermediate
/kənˈdɪʃənəl/
A sentence structure showing a condition and its result using 'if'
"We use conditionals when we talk about possibilities and imaginary situations."
confirm
Beginner
/kənˈfɜːrm/
To say that something is correct or true.
"Can you confirm the spelling is E-M-I-L-Y?"
conjugation
Elementary
/ˌkɒndʒuˈɡeɪʃən/
The different forms a verb takes depending on time, person, or other grammar rules
"The conjugation of 'go' in past tense is 'went' for all persons (I went, you went, he went)."
Consequently
Upper Intermediate
/ˈkɒnsɪkwəntli/
As a result; therefore.
""He didn't study. Consequently, he failed the exam.""
consonant
Beginner
/ˈkɑːn.sə.nənt/
A sound made by blocking air in your mouth (b, c, d, f, g, etc.)
"The word 'cat' starts with the consonant sound 'k'."
Contains
Beginner
/kənˈteɪnz/
Has something inside; used on labels to show what's in a product.
"This chocolate contains nuts, so it's not safe for people with nut allergies."
context
Intermediate
/ˈkɒn.tekst/
The situation or information surrounding something that helps you understand it
"If you don't know a word, you can often guess its meaning from context."
contraction
Beginner
/kənˈtrækʃən/
A short form of a word or words, made by leaving out letters or sounds
"The contraction of 'I am' is 'I'm'."
conversely
Upper Intermediate
/ˈkɒnvɜːsli/
In the opposite way; considering the opposite point of view
"Some students prefer written exams; conversely, others do better with oral presentations."
countable
Intermediate
/ˈkaʊntəbl/
Able to be counted; nouns that have singular and plural forms
"Apples are countable nouns because you can say one apple, two apples, three apples."
counterargument
Upper Intermediate
/ˈkaʊntər.ɑːrɡjəmənt/
An argument or evidence that opposes another argument
"She presented a strong counterargument to the proposal, citing historical precedents."
courtesy
Upper Intermediate
/ˈkɜːrtəsi/
Polite and respectful behavior toward other people
"Always show courtesy in your tone, even when dealing with difficult clients."
cousin
Beginner
/ˈkʌzən/
The child of your parent's brother or sister.
"My cousin Ahmed lives in Cairo, and I see him at family parties."
credibility
Upper Intermediate
/krɛˈdɪbɪlɪti/
The quality of being trustworthy, believable, and having legitimate authority on a subject
"The author's credibility improved when she cited peer-reviewed research to support her argument."