cut

chop to cut vegetables, meat, or wood into pieces
 

slice to cut bread, vegetables, or meat into thin pieces
 

dice to cut vegetables into small pieces
 

peel to cut the outside part off an onion, apple etc
 

grate to cut cheese or vegetables into small pieces by  

rubbing them against a special tool
 

carve to cut pieces from a large piece of meat
 

saw to cut wood using a special tool called a saw
 

chop down to cut down a tree, using an axe
 

snip to cut something quickly using scissors
 

shave to remove hair from your face or body
 

trim to remove small parts of something to make it look neat
 

mow to cut grass
 

prune to cut off the top part of plants, in order to make them grow better cut

give

put something in someone's hand: hand, pass
 

officially give something to someone: award, present, grant, confer, allocate
 

give something to people in a group: hand out, pass around, distribute 

give to a charity: donate
 

give something to people after you die: leave, pass on, bequeath

run

for exercise: jog
very quickly because you are in a hurry: dash, tear, sprint

break

smash with a lot of force
shatter into many pieces
split into two pieces
snap into two pieces, with a sudden loud noise
tear paper/cloth
burst pipe/tyre/balloon
crumble break into a lot of small pieces
disintegrate break into a lot of small pieces and be destroyed
fracture if a bone fractures or you fracture it, it breaks slightly so that a small line appears on the surface

film

types of film: comedy, romantic comedy, drama, thriller, western, action film, horror film, war film, art house film, silent film, feature film
 

films that use drawings or models: cartoon, animation, animated filmfilms in general: cinema
 

where you go to see a film : cinema British English/movie theater American English, multiplex
 

the people in a film: actor, actress, star, cast
 

the people who make a film: director, producer, film crew, cameraman/camerawoman, scriptwriter 

the music for a film: soundtrack
 

the words and the instructions to the actors: screenplay
 

a short film advertising another film: trailer

accident

similar words : crash, wreck American English, pile-up, collision, disaster, catastrophe

expensive

high used about prices, rents, or charges
fancy used about restaurants, cars, or clothes that look expensive
posh used about hotels, restaurants, or cars that look expensive and are used by rich or high-class people
cost a lot also cost a bomb informal to be very expensive
be out of somebody's price range to be more than someone can afford to pay
be a rip-off informal to be much too expensive, so that you feel you have been cheated
exorbitant exorbitant prices are much too high

walk

stroll in a relaxed way for pleasure
wander with no aim or direction
stride in a confident or angry way
march soldiers
hike for long distances in the countryside or the mountains
tiptoe very quietly
wade through water
stagger in an unsteady way because you are drunk or injured
limp with difficulty because one leg is painful or injuredwalk

control, manage, run, be in charge

control, manage, run, be in charge 

To control something means to have the power to make it work in the way that you want, usually without  anyone else being able to stop you  

 T 

he army controls the north of the country 

 With 75% of the shares, he effectively controls the company. 

To manage something means to organize the way that it works, often with responsibility for other people's work   

She manages a team of software developers. 

David managed a small bookstore. 

To run something such as a business means to organize it and take the important decisions about how it works, perhaps as the owner of the business 

I 

   run my own cleaning business.  Louise will be running the project. 

To be in charge means to have responsibility for a situation or activity and decide what happens in it   

When the Director is away, her deputy is in charge.  He's in charge of marketing. 

: control, check, inspect, examine, test, monitor  

Do not use control to mean 'check' or 'test'. Use one of the following verbs 

check or inspect means to look at something carefully to see if it is correct, safe, or legal 

Your passports will be checked on arrival.  Safety officers inspected the building. 

examine means to look at something very carefully in order to find out more about it   

Experts who examined the letter declared it a fake 

test means to carry out an experiment or process in order to find out what qualities something has •  

 T hey test blood samples for drugs. • Every car is tested to ensure that it meets high safety standards. 

monitor means to keep checking or testing something over a period of time to see if it changes •  

 Her heart rate is being monitored  

This device monitors room temperature and humidity.

police

people in the police force: police officer, policeman, policewoman, detective, cop informal 

the building where the police work: police station
 

what the police do: investigate crimes, find/collect evidence,  

arrest people who they think are guilty of a crime  

question/interrogate people about crimes 

 hold/detain people in custody,  

charge people with crimes,  

release people if they are innocent

burning

to be burning: be on fire, be ablaze, be alight
 

to start burning: catch fire, burst into flames, ignite
 

to make something start burning: light, set fire to something
to make something stop burning: put out, extinguish
to hurt or damage your skin with hot liquid or steam: scald
 

the crime of deliberately setting fire to buildings: arson

colour

a particular kind of colour: shade, hint, hue
words for describing dark colours: dark, deep, rich
words for describing light colours: light, pale, soft, pastel
words for describing bright colours: bright, brilliant, vivid, garish disapproving, gaudy disapproving
having a lot of colours: colourful, multicoloured British English/multicolored American English

clothes

clothes, clothing, garment, cloth clothes are things that you wear, for example shirts and dresses   

I need some new clothes.  

Do you ever wear your sister's clothes 

clothes is always plural and has no singular form   

 He was wearing nice clothes NOT a nice clothe/clothes  

Use clothing to talk about a particular type of clothes or when talking about making or selling clothes • Special protective clothing is worn.  

a clothing manufacturer!! This word is not used much in ordinary spoken language   

I went shopping for summer clothes (NOT clothing).  

In formal English, you can use garment or piece/item/article of clothing to refer to one thing you wear  

 a long velvet garment  

a discarded article of clothing But it is more usual to name the particular thing you mean  

He was wearing a long coat (NOT long garment)

cook

fry in oil 

 boil in hot water
bake bread and cakes in an oven 

roast meat or vegetables in an oven  

microwave using a microwave oven
grill/broil American English using a grillsteam, toast, simmer, poach, barbecue, stir-fry, saute, chargrill
raw not cooked 

rare used about meat that has been cooked for a short time
well-done used about meat that has been cooked for a long time cook

taste

delicious/tasty tastes very good
disgusting tastes very bad
hot/spicy has a lot of spices
bland boring and with not very much taste
sweet has a lot of sugar
salty has a lot of salt
sour used about fruit that is not sweet
bitter used about coffee, chocolate, or medicine that is not at all sweettaste

in front, opposite, face

in front, opposite, face 

If something or someone is in front of a building, they are directly outside the front of it  

 Meet me in front of the station. 

If something or someone is opposite a building, they are outside the front of it on the other side of a street, area of land etc  

•  the fields opposite the school 

Use the verb face to say that a building has something outside the front of it  

My apartment block faces (NOT is in front of) the sea. • a house facing the square
in front of, before  

Use in front of not 'before', to talk about doing something so that people can see or hear you  

 I had to explain myself in front of (NOT before) the whole class 

Use before, not 'in front of',to talk about the order in which things happen  

 Before starting (NOT In front of starting), let's list what we have to do

house

types of house: terraced house British English/row house American English one of several houses that are joined together
 

detached house British English a house that is not 

 joined to another house
 

semi-detached house British English a house that is attached to another house on one side
 

cottage a small house in the country
 

bungalow British English a small house with one floor
 

duplex American English a house that is divided into two separate homes
 

apartment also flat British English a set of rooms where someone lives, which is part of a larger building
 

condominium/condo American English an apartment in a large building, which is owned by the people who live there
 

studio apartment/studio also bedsit British English an apartment with one main room and no separate bedroom
 

a very large house: mansion, palace,  

  country house British English, stately home British English
 

someone who sells houses and land: estate  

agent British English, real estate agent American English, realtor American English
 

someone who rents a house from another person: tenant
 

someone who owns a house and rents it to people: landlord, landladyhouse ➔ residence, property, dwelling, abode, lease, lessee

hotel

types of hotel: motel, inn, B&B British English, guesthouse British English 

types of room: double room =has a bed for two  

 people
twin room =has two single beds 

single room =for one personsuite =has two or more rooms  

people who work at a hotel: desk clerk =gives you your key
 

bellboy British English/bellhop American English   =takes your bags up to your room 

maid also chambermaid =cleans your roommanager
 

someone who is staying at a hotel: guest
 

the place where you check in, check out, and pay your bill: front desk, reception British English
 

an arrangement to stay at a hotel: reservation also booking British English
 

hotel services: room service, wake-up call

garden

parts of a garden: lawn, flowerbed, hedge, patio, rockery, pond, greenhouse, compost heap, kitchen garden
 

things you do in the garden: cut the grass/mow the 

  lawn, weed the flowerbeds, sow seeds, plant flowers/bushes/trees, water the plants, cut back/prune roses and other bushes, trim the hedge

ravel, travelling, journey, trip, voyage, crossing, flight

travel, travelling, journey, trip, voyage, crossing, flight 

Travel (uncountable noun) and travelling are used to mean the general activity of moving from place to place  

 Air travel is becoming cheaper

Her work involves a lot of travelling  

You do not say 'a travel'  

Use journey to talk about travelling a long distance or travelling regularly, when the emphasis is on the travelling itself 

  a long and difficult journey (NOT travel) through the mountains  

 I read during the train journey to work 

 Did you have a good journey? 

Were you comfortable, was the train on time etc  

A trip is when you go on a short journey, or a journey  

 you do not usually make, and come back again. 

 Use this when the emphasis is on where you are going or why you are going there  

•  my first trip to the States  
•   a business trip 
•  Was it a good trip
•  Did you achieve what you wanted to or have a good time there

Voyage is used for a long sea journey  

 a voyage across the ocean 

Crossing is used for a fairly short sea journey 

  The crossing takes 90 minutes

Flight is used for a journey by air   

 Have a good flight!