🔤 Vocabulary Bank
Build your English vocabulary — one word at a time.
429 words found — page 7 of 9
quantity
Beginner
/ˈkwɑːn.tə.ti/
The amount or number of something you want to buy
"Write the quantity next to each item on your list."
quarter
Beginner
/ˈkwɔːtə/
One fourth of something; 15 minutes in time
"The train arrives at **quarter past** five."
quarter past/quarter to
Beginner
/ˈkwɔːtər pɑːst/
Quarter past = 15 minutes after. Quarter to = 15 minutes before the hour.
"The train leaves at quarter past ten tomorrow morning."
question
Beginner
/ˈkwestʃən/
A sentence that asks for information or an answer
"I have a question about the homework."
receipt
Beginner
/rɪˈsiːt/
A paper showing what you bought and how much you paid
"Can you give me a receipt for this purchase?"
recipe
Elementary
/ˈresəpi/
Written instructions for making food
"I followed a recipe online to make cookies."
reconcile
Intermediate
/ˈrekənsaɪl/
To settle a disagreement and restore friendly relations
"After weeks apart, the friends decided to reconcile and forgive each other."
redundancy
Upper Intermediate
/rɪˈdʌndənsi/
Unnecessary repetition or duplication of information
"Saying 'high price' and then 'moreover expensive' creates redundancy."
redundant
Upper Intermediate
/rɪˈdʌndənt/
Unnecessary because it repeats something already said
"Remove redundant phrases—saying 'as mentioned earlier' twice weakens your message."
refer to
Beginner
/rɪˈfɜːr tuː/
To point to or indicate something or someone; to mean
"The pronoun 'she' refers to a female person."
regional
Intermediate
/ˈriːdʒənəl/
Related to or belonging to a specific area or part of a country
"Regional differences in English can make communication challenging sometimes."
register
Upper Intermediate
/ˈredʒɪstər/
The level of formality in language appropriate to different situations
"Using 'thus' is appropriate in academic register but sounds unnatural in casual conversation."
regular plural
Beginner
/ˈreɡjələr ˈplʊrəl/
A noun that becomes plural by following standard rules (adding -s or -es).
"The word 'cat' becomes 'cats' — that's a regular plural."
relationship
Beginner
/rɪˈleɪʃənʃɪp/
The way two people are connected, usually by blood or marriage.
"What's your relationship to her? Is she your sister?"
relative clause
Upper Intermediate
/ˈrelətɪv klɔːz/
A clause that gives more information about a noun using relative pronouns like 'who', 'which', or 'that'
"The book that I read last week was incredible."
relative pronoun
Upper Intermediate
/ˈrelətɪv ˈprənaʊn/
A word like 'who', 'which', 'that', or 'whose' that introduces a relative clause
"The manager whom you met yesterday called to confirm the appointment."
relevance
Intermediate
/ˈreləvəns/
The quality of being closely connected or appropriate to the present situation or discussion
"The present perfect emphasizes the relevance of past actions to the present moment."
remote work
Intermediate
/rɪˈmoʊt wɜːrk/
Working from home or another location, not in an office
"Many companies now offer remote work options to their employees."
repeat
Beginner
/rɪˈpiːt/
To say something again; to do something again
"Can you repeat that more slowly, please?"
repetitive
Beginner
/rɪˈpɛtətɪv/
Using the same words or ideas again and again; boring
"Saying someone's name five times in a row sounds repetitive."
replace
Beginner
/rɪˈpleɪs/
To take the place of something else; to substitute
"We use pronouns to replace nouns so we don't repeat names."
reporting verb
Advanced
/rɪˈpɔːrtɪŋ vɜːrb/
A verb used to introduce what someone said, like 'say', 'claim', 'allege', or 'maintain'
"The reporting verb 'insist' carries a stronger meaning than 'say' in reported speech."
rhetorical question
Upper Intermediate
/rɪˈtɒrɪkl ˈkwestʃən/
A question asked for effect, not expecting an answer, used to make a point or persuade
"The opinion piece opened with the rhetorical question 'How can we claim to care about the environment while ignoring plastic pollution?'"
routine
Elementary
/ruːˈtiːn/
Regular actions that you do in the same way and at the same time
"My morning routine includes brushing my teeth and eating breakfast."
sandwich
Beginner
/ˈsænwɪtʃ/
Two pieces of bread with food between them
"A cheese sandwich is quick and easy for lunch."
scan
Beginner
/skæn/
To read quickly to find specific information, not every word.
"I scanned the profile to find his phone number."
schedule
Beginner
/ˈskedʒuːl/
A plan that shows what happens and when. Similar to timetable.
"My work schedule shows I'm off on Sundays."
school
Beginner
/skuːl/
A place where children go to learn with teachers
"I go to school five days a week."
Season
Beginner
/ˈsiːzən/
One of the four periods of the year: spring, summer, autumn, or winter.
"My favorite season is summer because the weather is warm and sunny."
security gate
Elementary
/sɪˈkjʊərɪti ɡeɪt/
The checkpoint where officers check your ID and bags before boarding
"Please remove your shoes at the security gate."
See you later
Beginner
/siː juː ˈleɪtər/
A casual way to say goodbye to someone you'll see again soon
"My friend said 'See you later!' as she left the café."
sentence
Beginner
/ˈsen.tens/
A group of words that expresses a complete thought with a capital letter and full stop.
"This is a sentence. It has a subject and verb and makes sense."
separable
Intermediate
/ˈsepərəbəl/
Able to be divided or split, used to describe phrasal verbs where an object can go between the verb and particle
"In the phrasal verb 'turn down', the object is separable: 'turn the offer down'."
sequence
Beginner
/ˈsiːkwəns/
A series of things in a particular order; the order in which things happen
"It's important to remember the sequence of steps."
Shape
Beginner
/ʃeɪp/
The outline or form of something (circle, square, triangle, etc.)
"This pizza is a perfect circle shape."
sibling
Beginner
/ˈsɪblɪŋ/
Your brother or sister; the word for both together.
"I have two siblings — one brother and one sister."
sign
Beginner
/saɪn/
A written or visual message displayed publicly to give information or instructions.
"The sign on the door says 'CLOSED'."
signature
Beginner
/ˈsɪɡnətʃər/
Your name written at the end of an email to show who wrote it
"I always include my full signature at the end of professional emails."
Simple
Beginner
/ˈsɪmpl/
Easy to understand; not complex.
""The instructions are simple and clear.""
Simple Past Tense
Elementary
/ˈsɪmpəl pɑːst ˈtens/
Grammar form used to describe actions or events that started and finished in the past.
"I worked at that company for three years. (Simple Past Tense)"
singular
Intermediate
/ˈsɪŋɡjələr/
Referring to one person or thing; the form of a noun used when talking about one item
"The singular form of the word chairs is chair."
Size
Beginner
/saɪz/
How big or small something is (big, small, tall, short, etc.)
"I need a bigger size — this one is too small for me."
skill set
Intermediate
/skɪl set/
A group of abilities or talents someone has
"Digital skill sets are becoming more important in modern jobs."
slim
Elementary
/slɪm/
Thin and not fat; having an attractive thin shape
"The dancer has a slim figure because she exercises every day."
slow
Beginner
/sloʊ/
Not fast; taking more time
"Please speak more slowly. I can't understand."
slowly
Beginner
/ˈsloʊli/
Not fast; taking more time
"Please spell it slowly so I can write it down."
Small or large?
Beginner
/smɔːl ɔːr lɑːrdʒ/
A question asking which size you want
"'I'd like a coffee, please.' 'Small or large?'"
small talk
Beginner
/smɔːl tɔːk/
Light, friendly conversation about common topics like weather, not serious subjects.
"Before meetings, colleagues often do small talk about the weekend."