Words Flashcards
inf
to decide to stop working, esp because you have done enough or you are tired
call it a day
Come on, let’s call it a day and go home.
1 to beat someone at the last moment in a race, competition etc, when they were expecting to win :
2 to beat someone in a race, competition etc, by only a small amount
1) pip somebody at the post
The Maclaren team were narrowly pipped at the post by Ferrari.
2) to pip
pip somebody to/for something
Jackson just pipped him for the gold.
a state of confusion, excitement, or anxiety
tur‧moil / tɜmɔɪl $ tɜr- / noun [ singular, uncountable ]
political/emotional/economic/religious etc turmoil
the prospect of another week of political turmoil
in (a) turmoil
Ashley gazed at him, her thoughts in turmoil.
1 [ transitive ] to clean and brush an animal, especially a horse
2 [ transitive ] to prepare someone for an important job or position in society by training them over a long period
3 [ transitive ] to take care of your own appearance by keeping your hair and clothes clean and tidy
4 [ transitive ] to develop a friendship with a child, with the intention of starting a sexual relationship. This is done by adults, and is illegal when the child is younger than 16.
5 [ intransitive and transitive ] if an animal grooms itself or another animal, it cleans its own fur and skin or that of the other animal
groom 1 / ɡrum, ɡrʊm / verb
2 groom somebody for something
Tim was being groomed for a managerial position.
groom somebody to do something
Clare’s been groomed to take her father’s place when he retires.
3 Her hair is always perfectly groomed. → well-groomed
1 used like ‘hell’ to emphasize what you are saying
2 what the h_____k used to say that you will do something even though you really should not do it
3 for the h_____k of it for fun, or for no particular reason
heck 2 noun [ singular, uncountable ] spoken informal
1 It cost a heck of a lot of money.
where/how/who etc the heck
Where the heck are we?
He sure as heck didn’t tell me.
2 It’s rather expensive, but what the heck.
1 a formal written statement describing someone’s character and abilities → reference
2 something that is given or done to someone to thank or praise them, or show admiration for them
tes‧ti‧mo‧ni‧al / testəməʊniəl, testɪməʊniəl $ -moʊ- / noun [ countable ]
2 a testimonial dinner in honour of Senator Frank Flint
to start behaving in a strange or socially unacceptable way
go off the rails informal
At 17 he suddenly went off the rails and started stealing.
to provide information that supports or helps to prove someone else’s statement, idea etc SYN back up
cor‧rob‧o‧rate / kərɒbəreɪt $ kərɑ- / verb [ transitive ] formal
We now have new evidence to corroborate the defendant’s story.
Experiments elsewhere corroborate these results.
— corroboration / kərɒbəreɪʃ ə n $ -rɑ- / noun [ uncountable ]
— corroborative / kərɒb ə rətɪv $ -rɑbəreɪ- / adjective :
corroborative evidence
to be doing your job, especially playing a sport, very well
be at the top of your game (also be on top of your game)
1 big and heavy
2 a h_____y amount of something, especially money, is very large
3 British English a h_____y blow, kick etc is done using a lot of force
hef‧ty / hefti / adjective [ usually before noun ]
1 a tall hefty man
a hefty tome (= large thick book )
hefty camera equipment
2 a hefty fine
3 He aimed a hefty kick at the door.
a hefty shove
to buy a lot of something in order to keep it for when you need to use it later
stock up phrasal verb
stock up on
I have to stock up on snacks for the party.
1 food that is t_____t has a sharp sour taste :
2 t___t reply/remark etc a reply, remark etc that is sharp and unkind
tart adjective
1 a tart apple
— tartly adverb :
‘I don’t think so!’ she replied tartly.
— tartness noun [ uncountable ]
to say unpleasant things about someone that are untrue SYN slander :
ma‧lign 1 / məlaɪn / verb [ transitive usually passive ]
She had seen herself repeatedly maligned in the newspapers.
a much maligned politician
harmful OPP benign
malign 2 adjective formal
a malign influence
1 kind and gentle
2 a b_______n tumour (= unnatural growth in the body ) is not caused by cancer OPP malignant
be‧nign / bɪnaɪn / adjective
1) He shook his head in benign amusement.
one of a set of small open boxes fixed to a wall. You leave letters, messages etc for particular people in the boxes.
pi‧geon‧hole 1 / pɪdʒənhəʊl, pɪdʒɪnhəʊl $ -hoʊl / noun [ countable ]
to unfairly consider a person, activity etc as belonging to a particular type or group SYN label
pigeonhole 2 verb [ transitive ]
pigeonhole somebody/something as something
Patsy was pigeonholed as a Country and Western singer, but that’s too simple.
1) to try to hit someone
2) _____ out at somebody/something phrasal verb
( also _______ out against somebody/something ) to express strong disapproval of someone or something SYN attack
hit out phrasal verb
1) When he felt someone grab him, he hit out wildly.
2) The bishop hit out at the government’s policy on the homeless.
a very bad situation that someone is in
plight 1 / plaɪt / noun [ usually singular ]
plight of
the desperate plight of the flood victims
the country’s economic plight
old use to promise someone that you will marry them
verb
plight your troth
to defeat a plan, law etc by voting
vote something ↔ down phrasal verb
In 1999 the town had voted down a petition to close the school.
to cause a difficult situation or violent events to begin
touch something ↔ off phrasal verb
It was these national rivalries that eventually touched off the First World War.
1 when you do something very quietly, slowly, or secretly, so that no one notices you
2 ( also S_______h ) a system of making military aircraft that cannot be discovered by radar instruments
stealth bomber/aircraft/fighter etc (= a plane made using this system )
stealth / stelθ / noun [ uncountable ]
1 Cats rely on stealth to catch their prey.
1 ( also _______ away ) if one part of something _____ ___ from the rest, it becomes completely separate from it
2 ( also _______ away ) if a small group of people _____ ___ from a larger group, they become separate from it
3 _______ something ↔ ___ to separate one part of something and make it completely separate from the rest
split off phrasal verb
1 split off from
A huge lump of rock had split off from the cliff face.
2 split off from
The group split away from the Green Party and formed the Environmental Alliance.
3 split something ↔ off from
This part of the business has now been split off from the main company.
angry, sad, or full of hate because of bad or unfair things that have happened to you SYN bitter
em‧bit‧tered / ɪmbɪtə $ -ər / adjective
a sick, embittered, and lonely old man
— embitter verb [ transitive ]
something that a group of people cannot agree on and that stops them from making progress
sticking point noun [ singular ]
North Korea’s refusal had long been a sticking point.
coming into existence or starting to develop :
nas‧cent / næs ə nt / adjective [ usually before noun ] formal
the country’s nascent democracy
their nascent industries
1 a _______ organization, industry etc is no longer active or effective and may be coming to an end
2 literary slowly dying
mor‧i‧bund / mɒrəbʌnd, mɒrɪbʌnd $ mɔ-, mɑ- / adjective
1 The region’s heavy industry is still inefficient and moribund.
A cut in interest rates will help the country’s moribund housing market.
2 The patient was moribund by the time the doctor arrived.
1 _______ your authority/power/control to do or say something to make your position stronger after a period when it seemed weak
2 to state a fact or opinion again, often more strongly or more clearly
3 _______ itself if something _______s itself, it returns or becomes stronger after a period when it was missing or weak
re‧as‧sert / riəsɜt $ -sɜrt / verb [ transitive ]
1 The Prime Minister aimed to reassert his authority.
2 He used the opportunity to reassert his position on energy policy.
3 At last, common sense had reasserted itself.
1 American English someone, especially a student, who plays a lot of sport and is often considered to be stupid
2 British English someone from Scotland – sometimes used in an insulting way
3 a disc jockey
jock / dʒɒk $ dʒɑk / noun [ countable ] informal
The passive structure with it is only possible with permit and not with allow.
It is not permitted to smoke in the kitchen.
but not
It is not allowed to smoke in the kitchen.
1 a narrow flat piece of rock that sticks out on the side of a mountain or cliff
2 a narrow shelf
a ledge / ledʒ / noun [ countable ]
1 We crept carefully along the narrow ledge.
He leapt onto a ledge of rock.
2 There’s some money on the window ledge (= narrow shelf below the window ) .
a problem or difficulty that is likely to happen in a particular job, course of action, or activity
pit‧fall / pɪtfɔl $ -fɒl / noun [ countable usually plural ]
pitfall of
He gave me advice on how to avoid the pitfalls of the legal process.
the pitfalls associated with the purchase of a used car
1 air/wind a sudden strong movement of wind or air
2 explosion an explosion, or the very strong movement of air that it causes
3 loud noise a sudden very loud noise, especially one made by a whistle or horn
4 (at) full _______ as powerfully or loudly as possible :
5 fun a _______ informal an enjoyable and exciting experience
6 emotion a sudden strong expression of a powerful emotion
7 a _______ from the past informal something from the past that you remember, see, or hear again, and that reminds you of that time in your life
blast 1 / blɑst $ blæst / noun [ countable ]
- blast of
A blast of cold air swept through the hut.
2 in the blast
Thirty-six people died in the blast.
bomb/shotgun/nuclear etc blast
A bomb blast completely destroyed the building.
3 blast on
The station master gave a blast on his whistle and we were off.
long/short blast
a long trumpet blast
4 I had the gas fire going full blast .
The radio was on at full blast .
5 The concert was a blast .
We had a blast at the fair.
6 blast of
She was totally unprepared for the blast of criticism she received.
7 That’s a blast from the past. No one has called me that for years.
5 a) to fall so that you are lying on your chest on the ground
b) informal to not have the result you want or expect, especially when this is embarrassing
fall flat on your/something’s face
a) Babe slipped and fell flat on her face.
b) The theory falls flat on its face when put into practice.
1 attach [ transitive always + adverb/preposition ] to attach one thing to another using a screw → nail
2 close by turning [ intransitive, transitive always + adverb/preposition ] to fasten or close something by turning it, or to be fastened in this way OPP un_______
3 paper/cloth [ transitive always + adverb/preposition ] ( also screw up ) to twist paper or cloth into a small round shape
4 sex [ intransitive and transitive ] informal not polite an offensive word meaning to have sex with someone
5 _______ you/him etc spoken not polite an offensive expression used to show that you are very angry with someone
6 cheat [ transitive ] not polite to cheat someone in order to get money from them
________ _______ phrasal verb
1 informal to do silly things that may cause trouble SYN mess around :
2 not polite an offensive expression meaning to have sex with a lot of different people
_____ _______ phrasal verb
1 informal to make a bad mistake or do something very stupid SYN mess up :
2 _______ something ↔ _____ informal to spoil something by doing something stupid SYN mess something up
3 _____ _____ your eyes/face to move the muscles in your face in a way that makes your eyes seem narrow
4 _____ somebody ↔ ___ informal to make someone feel very unhappy, confused, or upset so that they have emotional problems for a long time SYN mess somebody up
5 ________ _____ the/enough courage to do something ( also _____ ___ your courage to do something ) to be brave enough to do something you are very nervous about
screw 2 verb
1 screw something into/onto/to something
The chairs were screwed to the floor.
The wooden frame should be screwed onto the wall.
2 screw (something) on/onto something
The lens screws onto the front of the camera.
She carefully screwed the cap back onto the toothpaste.
3 She screwed the letter up and threw it in the bin. screw something (up) into something I screwed my handkerchief into a ball.
6 screw somebody for something
They screwed us for $60 in the end.
to screw around - phr verb
1 The kids were screwing around down by the bus station.
to screw up - phr verb
1) You’d better not screw up this time.
2 She realized that she had screwed up her life.
3 He screwed up his eyes against the bright light.
Her face was screwed up with pain.
4 It really screwed her up when… → screwed up
5 I finally screwed up enough courage to talk to her.
very careful and thorough SYN meticulous
pains‧tak‧ing / peɪnzteɪkɪŋ / adjective [ usually before noun ]
The work had been done with painstaking attention to detail.
Chris described in painstaking detail what had happened.
— painstakingly adverb :
The old painting was painstakingly restored.
1 formal to remove an object from somewhere, especially with difficulty SYN pull out
2 to carefully remove a substance from something which contains it, using a machine, chemical process etc
extract something from something
3 to get something which you want from someone, such as information, money, help etc, especially when they do not want to give it to you
4 to take information or a short piece of writing from a book
5 to get an advantage or good thing from a situation
ex‧tract 1 AC / ɪkstrækt / verb [ transitive ]
1 You’ll have to have that tooth extracted .
extract something from something
He extracted an envelope from his inside pocket.
2 Oils are extracted from the plants.
3 extract something from somebody
She had extracted a promise from him.
They used torture to extract information about their families.
4 We need to extract the relevant financial data.
5 extract something from something
They aim to extract the maximum political benefit from the Games.
to make small changes to something in order to repair it or make it work better
tin‧ker 1 / tɪŋkə $ -ər / verb [ intransitive ]
tinker with
Congress has been tinkering with the legislation.
tinker around with something
Dad was always tinkering around with engines.
formal to state publicly that you do not approve of something SYN condemn
de‧cry / dɪkraɪ / verb ( past tense and past participle decried , present participle decrying , third person singular decries ) [ transitive ]
