Essential English Vocabulary and Idioms for Fluency
Advanced Vocabulary and Professional Terminology
This section defines complex words and phrases, including business and financial terms, crucial for professional communication and advanced English comprehension.
- Appraisal
- An evaluation of something, often performance or value.
- Array
- A large group or collection of things or people.
- Badgering
- Repeatedly asking someone to do something.
- Bit of Wretched Genre of Literature
- A phrase expressing displeasure or disappointment.
- Carcass
- The dead body of an animal.
- Cavernous
- Something large, deep, and often dark.
- Come Down / Boil Down To
- To summarize or reduce to the main reason or essential point.
- Conducive
- Tending to create conditions favorable to something; making an outcome possible.
- Crop Up Unexpectedly
- To happen without warning.
- Diluted
- Made weaker by mixing it with other things.
- Ditched
- Abandoned or gotten rid of.
- Dogfight
- A fierce struggle for supremacy between interested parties.
- Dumb Down
- To reduce intellectual content, making it accessible to more people.
- Dwell On
- To think or talk about something for too long.
- Fad
- An activity or interest that is popular for a short period, then becomes boring.
- Feud
- A prolonged and bitter quarrel or dispute with someone.
- Frenzied
- Excited and uncontrolled.
- Hedges
- A strategy that reduces the risk of loss.
- Hedge Fund
- An investment fund that seeks to make money regardless of market conditions.
- Heyday
- The time of greatest success, power, or popularity.
- Hubris
- Excessive pride or self-confidence.
- Immediate Aftermath
- The first consequences following an event.
- Layoffs
- The termination of employees, often due to economic reasons.
- Niche
- The role taken by a type of organism within its community or environment.
- Over the Long Run
- In the long term; eventually.
- Pin Something Down
- To identify something precisely or rapidly.
- Ponder
- To think about something carefully.
- Premise
- The main point or underlying assumption of an argument.
- Revenue
- Total income collected by a business.
- Scrap
- A small piece or amount of something; remnants or leftovers.
- Seems Insurmountable
- Appears impossible to overcome.
- Side Hustle
- A part-time activity or job undertaken in addition to one’s main employment.
- Stakeouts
- A period of secret surveillance by police or investigators.
- Stuff (Verb)
- To fill something tightly.
- Toggling
- Switching a feature on a computer on and off by pressing the same button.
- Turn About
- A complete change from one situation to the opposite.
- Vectors
- A path or location where something is stored or transmitted.
- Vilify
- To say something negative about someone so that others form a bad opinion of them.
- Wreak
- To cause damage or chaos.
Verbal Expressions and Actions
- To Be Flushed With
- To have a lot of money.
- To Cloud
- To make something confused or more difficult to understand.
- To Crave
- To strongly desire something.
- To Deter
- To prevent someone from doing something by frightening them.
- To Enlist
- To engage or enroll in the armed services.
- To Haul Out
- To remove something with a lot of effort.
- To Hole Up
- To hide or take shelter.
- To Rank
- To place something depending on its importance or quality.
- To Rove
- To travel without a fixed destination.
- To Slaughter
- To kill animals for food.
- Wring From
- To obtain something by applying pressure or force.
Essential Idioms and Phrasal Verbs
A collection of common English idioms, phrasal verbs, and fixed expressions, often related to colors or physical actions.
- A Black Maria
- A police van used to transport prisoners.
- A Black Sheep
- A person who is considered a disgrace or embarrassment to their family or group.
- Bone Idle
- Extremely lazy.
- Brand New
- Completely new.
- Call Back
- To telephone someone again.
- Clean Up
- To make a place tidy.
- Come In For
- To receive or be the object of a reaction (often criticism).
- Cut Out
- To remove something by cutting.
- Dirt Cheap
- Very inexpensive; extremely cheap.
- Dog-Tired
- Extremely tired.
- Dwell For a Moment
- To briefly reflect on a topic before moving forward.
- Go Over
- To consider or examine something.
- Green With Envy
- Very jealous.
- Head For the Station
- To go towards the station.
- Hear Someone Out
- To listen to someone completely.
- Help Off With
- To do something that makes it easier for someone.
- Hold Out
- To survive in difficult circumstances.
- I Am Going to Foot the Bill
- To pay the expenses.
- I Had to Elbow My Way Through
- To push oneself through a crowd or difficult situation.
- If Customers Finger a Book It Gets Soiled
- If customers touch a book a lot, it will get soiled.
- In Black and White
- In writing or print (officially documented).
- In The Red
- Losing money; operating at a loss.
- Look Off In the Distance
- To look in a specific direction, often while daydreaming or contemplating.
- Look Up
- To find information (e.g., in a dictionary or database).
- Look Up To
- To admire or respect someone.
- Once In a Blue Moon
- Very rarely.
- Out Of the Blue
- Unexpectedly; without warning.
- Pick Up
- To collect something or someone.
- Run Into
- To collide with something, or to meet someone unexpectedly.
- Sort Out
- To separate or organize.
- Split Up
- To divide or separate.
- Stone-Deaf
- Completely unable to hear.
- Take After
- To resemble an ancestor or older relative.
- Take Over
- To begin to do something that someone else was doing; to assume control.
- Talk Out Of
- To persuade someone not to do something.
- Throw Away
- To get rid of something that you no longer want.
- To Catch Someone Red-Handed
- To catch someone in the act of doing something wrong.
- To Have Green Fingers
- To be good at gardening.
- To Have a Shoulder to Blame
- To have someone to blame.
- To Thumb Their Way Round Europe
- To hitchhike around Europe.
- To Wire Up
- To connect something electrically.
- Watch Him Shin Up
- Watch him climb up something (using hands and legs).
- Wide Open
- Fully opened.