Monthly Archives

July 2017

Intermediate+ Word of the Day: swell

To swell means ‘to enlarge in size or weight,’ ‘to increase in amount or degree,’ and also ‘to rise in volume.’ In medicine, when something swells it means that it increases abnormally in size. Relating to emotions, we use swell to mean ‘to grow inside you.’ If the sea swells, it means that it rises in waves. As a noun, a swell is an increase or rise, or a big wave. Informally, as an adjective in US English, swell means…

Continue Reading

Intermediate+ Word of the Day: frame

A frame is a border used to enclose a picture or a photo or, in building, a structure used as support, or a structure used for enclosing something, such as a door or window. Frame also means physique, if we are talking about the human body. In cinema, a frame is one of the successive pictures on a strip of film. As a verb, frame means ‘to construct’ or ‘to put in a frame.’ Informally, if you make someone innocent seem guilty, we say that you are…

Continue Reading

Intermediate+ Word of the Day: bud

A bud is the small part on the end of a plant from which leaves or flowers grow. In some organisms, a bud is a prominence that develops into a new individual, and in general, any round small rounded part on a body can be called a bud, especially the rounded protuberances from which horns sprout. Figuratively, an immature or undeveloped person or thing is also a bud. As a verb, to bud means ‘to produce…

Continue Reading

Intermediate+ Word of the Day: fair

If something is fair, it means that it’s ‘honest, just and free from bias.’ Fair also means ‘moderate,’ as in neither too good or too bad, and ‘somewhat large.’ If we are talking about color, it means ‘light, not dark’ and, when we refer to the weather, it means ‘bright, without clouds.’ It also means ‘attractive,’ and ‘having good conditions’ or ‘promising.’ As an adverb, it means ‘in an honest way.’ Unrelatedly, a fair is an exhibition and sale of articles, a place where buyers and sellers meet in an appointed place. It can also be an exhibition of farm products or livestock, usually held annually by a county or state….

Continue Reading

Intermediate+ Word of the Day: bush

A bush is a low plant that grows near the ground or several shrubs that look like a single plant. Anything that resembles this, like a thick bit of hair, can be called a bush. An unclear area covered with plants is also a bush and the bush is used to talk about an uncultivated area, usually in a hot country, where few people live. As a verb, to bush means ‘to branch or spread like a bush’ or…

Continue Reading

Intermediate+ Word of the Day: folk

Folk, usually in the plural form folks in US English but more commonly as folk (but used with a plural verb) in UK English, means ‘people in general’. It can also mean ‘people of a particular group’, when used with an adjective. In sociology, folk (used with a plural verb) are people considered as the ones who carry on tradition and culture. Informally, folks (in both US and UK English) also means ‘parents’ or ‘family.’ As an adjective, folk refers to anything that comes from…

Continue Reading