secret

it's a secret 

 tell somebody a secret/let somebody in on a secret also  

reveal a secret formal    

keep a secret   =not tell someone about something    

your secret is safe with me  =I will not tell anyone about it  

 big secret  =an important secret, or something that is known by very few people   

  little  secret =a secret that is not very important  

  be a closely-guarded/well-kept secret  =a secret that very few people know about  

state/official secret 

 trade secret  

dark secret  = a secret about something bad  

 somebody's  innermost secrets = someone's most personal secrets

 it's no secret (that) (=everyone knows about this 

 it's an open secret (that) = 

most people know about this, although you might expect it to be a secret

business

similar words: firm, business
a big company: corporation, multinational, conglomerate
an Internet company: dot-com
a company that is owned by a larger company: subsidiary, affiliate
abbreviations used in company names: Ltd (LimitedCo. (Company)Corp. (Corporation 

PLC (Public Limited Company) British English, Pty. Proprietary  

 used in Australia and South Africacompany

train

by train =travelling on a train  

catch/get a train  

get on/board a train  

get off a train 

 take a train =travel using a train  

wait for a train  

miss a train =be too late to get on a train  

a train pulls into/out of a station 

 freight/goods train =a train that carries goods  

passenger train =a train that carries people  

commuter train =a train that people going to work use 

 train journey/ride 

 train  fare =the money you pay for a train journey

hand

somebody's left/right hand  in somebody's hand  

the palm of your hand (=the inside surface of your hand)  

the back of your hand (=the outside surface of your hand)  

wave your hand  

clap your hands 

 hold hands with somebody 

shake somebody's hand also shake hands (with somebody) (=as a greeting) 

 take somebody by the hand =hold someone's hand in order to take them somewhere 

join hands =take hold of someone's hand, for example in a dance  

clasp your hands =hold them together tightly 

fold your hands =put them together and rest them on something 

raise your hand also put your hand up British English lift your hand in the air, especially to show that you want to answer or ask a question  

on (your) hands and knees =in a crawling position

with your bare hands =without using a tool, weapon, machine etc

skin

fair/pale skin 

 dark/olive skin  

dark-skinned/fair-skinned  

dry/oily/sensitive skin  

smooth/soft skin 

leathery skin =thick and hard skin   

scaly skin =rough dry skin on animals such as LIZARDs

 good/bad skin (=healthy or unhealthy skin on your face) skin colour/tone  

rub/irritate your skin 

 flap/fold/layer of skin

issue

the issue of something 

 raise an issue =say that an issue should be discussed

address an issue =discuss or deal with an issue  

resolve an issue avoid/dodge/duck/evade an issue avoid discussing an issue=  

confuse/cloud an issue =make an issue more difficult by talking about things not related to it  

important/key/major/big issue thorny/vexed issue difficult issue= 

 complex issue sensitive issue political/social/economic/environmental issues something is not the issue spoken =used to say that something is not the important part of what you are discussing

confidence

lack of confidence 

 have confidence in somebody/something      

have every/complete/absolute confidence in   

somebody/something 

 lose  your confidence in somebody/something  

gain/win somebody's confidence  

increase confidence in somebody/something 

 inspire confidence  in somebody/something =make people have confidence  

restore confidence in somebody/something  =bring back people's confidence  

destroy/shatter (somebody's) confidence in somebody/something  

undermine (somebody's) confidence in somebody/something =make someone have less confidence 

public confidence  

business confidence =when businesses think the economic situation is good  

consumer confidence =when ordinary people think the economic situation is good

effect

have an effect on somebody/something  

big/major/profound/significant/dramatic effect  

bad/harmful/negative/damaging/detrimental/adverse effect  

beneficial/positive effect long-term effect  

feel the effect of something 

 knock-on-effect British English =an effect caused by the thing that happened before  

cumulative effect =the effect of many things happening one after another 

the desired effect =the effect you wanted  

cause and effect =one thing directly causing the other

marriage

happy/unhappy marriage  

mixed marriage =between people of different races or religions

arranged marriage =your parents choose the person who you marry  

loveless marriage  

a marriage breaks down =it ends because of disagreements  

the breakdown/break-up of your marriage =the end of your marriage  

sex before marriage/outside marriage be born outside marriage =be born when your parents are not married  

propose marriage formal =ask someone to marry you  

consummate a marriage =make your marriage complete by having sex  

annul a marriage formal =a court or church leader officially ends a marriage

in tears =crying  

in floods of tears British English =crying a lot   

close to tears/on the verge of tears =almost crying 

 burst into tears =suddenly start crying

 fight back (the) tears also choke back tears =try not to cry  

moved to tears =so upset that you cry 

bring tears to somebody's eyes =make someone cry 

shed tears/a tear =cry 

reduce somebody to tears =make someone cry 

somebody's eyes fill with tears  

tears well up in your eyes =you start to cry 

 tears roll/run/stream down somebody's face/cheeks  

tears of joy/rage/frustration etc =crying because you are happy, angry etc

labour

skilled labour (=workers who have special skills) unskilled labour (=workers who have no special skills) casual labour =workers who do jobs that are not permanent 

 cheap labour  

child labour  

slave labour 

 labour costs  

labour shortage 

 labour market =all the people available to work

pain

have a pain in your stomach/leg/side etc be in pain chest pain/back pain/neck pain etc severe/terrible/chronic pain sharp pain =a short but severe pain 

excruciating pain =very severe pain 

dull pain =one that is not severe but continues for a long time 

nagging pain =one that continues for a long time and keeps bothering you  

shooting pain (=a severe pain that starts in one place then quickly moves to another)  

ease/relieve/kill pain pain relief/control inflict pain (on somebody)  

labour pains (=pain felt by a woman who is starting to have a baby)  

aches and pains (=slight feelings of pain that are not very serious)

nose

big/long nose  

a nose that curves out near the top) Roman nose /hooked nose

(=snub nose (=a small nose that curves up at the end) blow your nose (=clear your nose by blowing strongly into a piece of cloth)  

wipe your nose  

pick your nose (=remove dirt from your nose with your finger)  

punch somebody on the nose  

break your nose  

your nose is running (=liquid is coming out of your nose)  

runny nose (=when liquid is coming out of your nose) blocked nose (=you cannot breathe easily through your nose)  

wrinkle your nose  

the bridge of your nose (=the upper part, between your eyes)

money

spend money  

make/earn money  

make money =make a profit  

lose money =not make a profit, so that a business owes more than it earns  

cost money/cost a lot of money 

 save money lend/borrow/owe money 

 waste money (on something) be a waste of money charge (somebody) money 

 raise money  

pay money for something  

give somebody their money back/refund somebody's money 

 a sum/an amount of money  

get/earn good money =be paid good wages

defeat

 admit/accept/concede defeat 

suffer a defeat =experience a defeat 

a heavy/humiliating/crushing/resounding defeat 

a narrow defeat =by only a small amount 

inflict a defeat on somebody

blood

lose blood   

draw blood =make someone bleed  

give/donate blood =have blood taken from you for the medical treatment of other people  

blood clots =blood that forms a mass and stops flowing  

dried blood be caked with blood (=covered in dry blood)  

pool of blood  

drop of blood  

trickle of blood  

blood flows/oozes/gushes  

blood test  

blood cell  

blood sample

face

a long face (=an unhappy expression  

 pull/make a face =change your expression to make   

 people laugh or to show you are angry, disappointed    

 etc  

a blank face (=an expression that shows you do not know or recognize something)  

a face like thunder =a very angry expression   

somebody's face lights up/brightens (=they start to look happy)  

somebody's face falls (=they start to look unhappy) somebody's face darkens (=they start to look angry or threatening) 

see something in somebody's face show in somebody's face something is written all over somebody's face =something is obvious from someone's expression 

you should have seen his/her face spoken (=used to say that someone was very angry, surprised etc)  

the look/expression on somebody's face a smile/grin/frown etc on somebody's face

clean

keep something clean  

wipe something clean =wipe a cloth over something so it is clean

sweep/scrub etc something clean =rub something hard with a cloth or brush so it is clean  

clean and tidy especially British English  

neat and clean especially American English  

nice and clean  

spotlessly/scrupulously clean (=very clean) 

 as clean as a whistle =very clean

family

the whole family/all the family  

member of a family/family member  

a family of three/four/five etc  

a close/close-knit family (=a family whose members have a close relationship) 

 immediate family (=closest relations)  

nuclear family (=a family consisting of a mother, a father, and their children) 

 family background (=the sort of family someone comes from)  

one-parent family/single-parent family 

 the Royal Family (=the King or Queen and their family) family home/car/holiday etc  

a family film/show etc (=that is suitable for children as well as adults) 

 family life 

 family resemblance (=when members of the same family look like each other)  

family gathering (=when members of a family who do not live together arrange to meet)  

family unit

Collocation

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Some common verbs
have	do	make
have a bath have a drink have a good time have a haircut have a holiday have a problem have a relationship have a rest have lunch have sympathy	do business do nothing do someone a favour do the cooking do the housework do the shopping do the washing up do your best do your hair do your homework	make a difference make a mess make a mistake make a noise make an effort make furniture make money make progress make room make trouble
take	break	catch
take a break take a chance take a look take a rest take a seat take a taxi take an exam take notes take someone's place take someone's temperature	break a habit break a leg break a promise break a record break a window break someone's heart break the ice break the law break the news to someone break the rules	catch a ball catch a bus catch a chill catch a cold catch a thief catch fire catch sight of catch someone's attention catch someone's eye catch the flu
pay	save	keep
pay a fine pay attention pay by credit card pay cash pay interest pay someone a compliment pay someone a visit pay the bill pay the price pay your respects	save electricity save energy save money save one's strength save someone a seat save someone's life save something to a disk save space save time save yourself the trouble	keep a diary keep a promise keep a secret keep an appointment keep calm keep control keep in touch keep quiet keep someone's place keep the change
come	go	get
come close come complete with come direct come early come first come into view come last come late come on time come prepared come right back come second come to a compromise come to a decision come to an agreement come to an end come to a standstill come to terms with come to a total of come under attack	go abroad go astray go bad go bald go bankrupt go blind go crazy go dark go deaf go fishing go mad go missing go on foot go online go out of business go overseas go quiet go sailing go to war go yellow	get a job get a shock get angry get divorced get drunk get frightened get home get lost get married get nowhere get permission get pregnant get ready get started get the impression get the message get the sack get upset get wet get worried
		Miscellaneous
Time	Business English	Classifiers
bang on time dead on time early 12th century free time from dawn till dusk great deal of time late 20th century make time for next few days past few weeks right on time run out of time save time spare time spend some time take your time tell someone the time time goes by time passes waste time	annual turnover bear in mind break off negotiations cease trading chair a meeting close a deal close a meeting come to the point dismiss an offer draw a conclusion draw your attention to launch a new product lay off staff go bankrupt go into partnership make a loss make a profit market forces sales figures take on staff	a ball of string a bar of chocolate a bottle of water a bunch of carrots a cube of sugar a pack of cards a pad of paper