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
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
for exercise: jog
very quickly because you are in a hurry: dash, tear, sprint
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
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
similar words : crash, wreck American English, pile-up, collision, disaster, catastrophe
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
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
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.
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
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
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, 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)
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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!