Vocabulary
English vocabulary: learn meanings and use words
Do you want to build your English vocabulary? You can learn new words every day.
The word vocabulary means all the words you know. This page helps you choose natural word pairs and avoid common counting mistakes.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
vocabulary voh-CAB-yuh-lair-ee
Nostalgic: meaning and how to use it
Feeling affection for something in the past, often with pleasure and a little sadness.
Open lessonObsequious: meaning, tone, and examples in English
A visitor thanks a hotel employee who answers a question clearly and courteously. That employee is helpful or polite. If the employee keeps praising the visitor, agrees with every comment, and seems desperate for approval, obsequious may fit instead.
Open lessonObsolete meaning: no longer used or needed
A cassette player can still work, yet most people no longer use one. In that situation, obsolete is a more exact word than old.
Open lessonOminous meaning: a sign that something bad may happen
A dark cloud does not cause a storm. It can still feel ominous because it makes people expect one.
Open lessonOstentatious: meaning, tone, and examples
Ostentatious describes a conspicuous display intended to impress, usually with a critical tone.
Open lessonOxymoron meaning: two opposing words with a purpose
How can silence be deafening, or a secret be open? In an oxymoron, two words seem to disagree. The tension makes the reader pause and look for a meaning that neither word gives alone.
Open lessonParadigm meaning: a model or pattern for understanding something
A new tool can change more than one task. When it changes the model people use to approach a whole area of work, paradigm may be the right word.
Open lessonParadox: meaning and examples explained
A paradox is a situation, person, or statement with opposite qualities that seem impossible together but are true.
Open lessonParanoid: meaning, tone, and respectful alternatives
After a laptop goes missing, Omar checks the door twice. He may be worried about security. Calling him paranoid adds a much stronger idea: that his fear or suspicion has gone beyond the available evidence.
Open lessonPathetic meaning: pity, criticism, and careful tone
A reader may call a stranded animal pathetic because it deserves pity. The same reader may call an excuse pathetic because it is weak and disappointing. Context decides which meaning is intended.
Open lessonPensive: meaning and how to describe a thoughtful mood
Pensive describes quiet, serious thought, sometimes with sadness or worry.
Open lessonPerception meaning: how someone understands something
Two people can leave the same meeting with different perceptions of what happened.
Open lessonPhobias in English: vocabulary, meaning, and sensitive use
A friend says, "I do not like small spaces." Another person says, "Small spaces make me panic, so I avoid elevators when I can." English has different words for those experiences. Phobia is a strong and personal word, so it needs care.
Open lessonPlatonic meaning: a close relationship without romance
Two people can spend a great deal of time together, support each other, and still be friends. Platonic helps you name that kind of close connection when the absence of romance matters to the conversation.
Open lessonPoignant meaning: deeply moving or sadly touching
A photograph from childhood may make you smile and feel a little sad at the same time. Poignant is useful when a moment carries that kind of feeling.
Open lessonPretentious meaning: trying too hard to impress
A simple message can sound unfriendly when it uses grand words for an ordinary idea. Pretentious is the word for that kind of effort to impress.
Open lessonProcrastination meaning: putting a task off
You know the report is due on Friday, yet on Thursday evening you are still arranging your desk. That kind of unnecessary delay is procrastination.
Open lessonProcurement meaning: buying for an organization
A cafe needs coffee beans, cups, a card reader, and cleaning supplies. Someone has to decide what to buy, compare suppliers, agree terms, and place the orders. In a business, that work is called procurement.
Open lessonProtagonist: meaning in stories and arguments
In a story, the protagonist is a main character whose actions drive events.
Open lessonPrudent meaning: careful choices for the future
You may be able to spend all your money today, but keeping some for an unexpected bill is the more prudent choice.
Open lessonReconciliation: meanings and examples
After a long argument, two friends may want to speak again. At work, a finance team may compare two sets of figures. Both situations can involve reconciliation, but the clues tell you which meaning is intended.
Open lessonRhetoric meaning: persuasive language or empty promises?
A speech can persuade people with ideas, stories, and carefully chosen words. Rhetoric names that use of language. It can also be a criticism when the words sound strong but no plan follows.
Open lessonSanguine: meaning, tone, and examples in English
The project is behind schedule, but Noor is still sanguine about meeting the deadline. She is not saying that success is guaranteed. She is expressing a calm, confident hope that the team can still finish the work.
Open lessonSarcastic meaning: sharp words that mean the opposite
Your train is late for the third day in a row. Someone says, "Perfect timing." The words sound positive, but the speaker means the opposite. That comment is sarcastic.
Open lesson
The short answer
Vocabulary means all the words a person knows or uses. When you count separate items, call them words.
She wants to build her work vocabulary.
Why it works: Here, vocabulary means your entire collection of known words.
3 more examples
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study review
I learned twenty new words from this article.
Use words when you count single language pieces.
Not this:I learned twenty new
vocabulariesfrom this article. What changes: This wrongly counts separate words as whole vocabularies. Say twenty new words. -
work goals
She wants to expand her vocabulary for her new job.
Pair vocabulary with natural action verbs like expand.
Not this:She wants to
make biggerher vocabulary for her new job. What changes: The phrase sounds unnatural because English uses expand your vocabulary instead. -
desk reference
Look up the spelling in your dictionary.
A dictionary is the tool or book you open to check meanings.
Not this:Look up the spelling in your
vocabulary. What changes: Vocabulary means the words you know or use. A dictionary is the book or app where you look up a word.
Quick check
Which sentence is correct after reading a book chapter?
chapter review
Answer: I wrote down five new words in my notebook.
Show the answer
Answer: I wrote down five new words in my notebook.
You count single items as words. Your whole collection of words is your vocabulary.
Read the full guide
You sit at your kitchen table with an open notebook. A cup of tea sits next to your new English book. You want to remember the new expressions you read today.
Count words, not vocabulary
The problem: I learned ten new words today, but I told my teacher I learned ten new vocabularies and they corrected me.
Think about your daily study list. You learn separate words, while your whole store of language is your vocabulary. Use words when you count the items.
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Not this:
I learned ten new vocabularies this morning.Say: I learned ten new words this morning.
Use words for the separate items you counted. Vocabulary can name a whole set of words.
Your turn
You finished a lesson and wrote down three items. What do you say to your teacher?
classroom summary
Answer: I learned three new words today.
Show the answer
Answer: I learned three new words today.
You count single items as words. Vocabulary represents your whole language store.
Make CAB the strong beat
The problem: The word is long, so I lose the beat and make the wrong part strong.
This long word has five sound parts in the careful form. Put the main stress (the strongest beat) on CAB, the second part.
Start with voh, using the vowel sound in go.
voh-CAB-yuh-lair-ee
Finish with lair-ee and pronounce the r.
voh-CAB-yuh-lair-ee
Your turn
Where does the main sound emphasis fall when you say vocabulary?
speaking aloud
Answer: On CAB: voh-CAB-yuh-lair-ee.
Show the answer
Answer: On CAB: voh-CAB-yuh-lair-ee.
The main sound emphasis is on CAB in the second position.
Use common verb pairs
The problem: I put vocabulary with the wrong verbs because I translate directly from my native language.
Some verbs fit together well. In English, you build or expand your vocabulary. These pairs are common in study talk.
| Natural verb | What you say | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| build | I want to build my vocabulary. | Learn more words step by step |
| expand | She wants to expand her vocabulary. | Add a wider range of words |
| improve | She wants to improve her vocabulary. | Use words more accurately |
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Not this:
I want to make bigger my vocabulary this year.Say: I want to expand my vocabulary this year.
English uses expand or build for language growth.
Your turn
Complete the sentence with the best verb.
work vocabulary goal
Answer: She wants to expand her vocabulary for work.
Show the answer
Answer: expand
Build and expand both go well with vocabulary.
Pick dictionary, word, or vocabulary
The problem: I mix up vocabulary with word and dictionary when planning my English study tasks.
A book or app can help you check a word. Your vocabulary is the store of words you know. Keep the tool and the word store apart.
Use dictionary for the reference book or phone app.
I look up hard words in my dictionary.
Use vocabulary for all the words you understand.
My active vocabulary has grown a lot.
Your turn
You do not understand a term in a newspaper. What do you check?
reading a newspaper
Answer: I check the meaning in my dictionary.
Show the answer
Answer: I check the meaning in my dictionary.
A dictionary is the reference tool where you look up meanings.
Before you go
Question 1 of 2
Arrange the words to form a natural study statement.
study planning
Answer: She wants to build her English vocabulary.
Show the answer
Answer: She wants to build her English vocabulary.
Build her vocabulary is the standard word partnership.
Question 2 of 2 · One new sentence
You are planning your study schedule for next week. Which sentence expresses your goal naturally?
schedule planning
Answer: I set aside twenty minutes every morning to learn new words for work.
Show the answer
Answer: I set aside twenty minutes every morning to learn new words for work.
You learn new words one at a time. Do not say new vocabularies or make bigger.
Remember this
Use words when you count each item. Use common verbs such as build and expand for your whole vocabulary.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "English vocabulary: learn meanings and use words"
Should I say five words or five vocabularies?
Say five words when you count separate language items. Vocabulary usually names the whole set of words that someone knows or that belongs to a subject.
I learned five new words today.
My work vocabulary is growing.
Is the plural vocabularies ever correct?
Yes, when you mean different sets of words, such as the vocabularies of two fields or languages. Do not use it to count separate words in one lesson.
Legal and medical vocabularies overlap in some areas.
I wrote down ten new words, not ten vocabularies.
Should I say my vocabulary is or my vocabulary are?
Say my vocabulary is when vocabulary means your whole set of known or used words.
My vocabulary is growing.
Her work vocabulary is useful.
Which verbs naturally go with vocabulary?
Build, expand, and improve are common choices. Build or expand focuses on learning more words; improve can also include using known words more accurately.
I want to build my vocabulary.
She wants to improve her work vocabulary.
How do I pronounce vocabulary?
In American English, say voh-CAB-yuh-lair-ee, with the strongest beat on CAB.
My English vocabulary is growing.
This course teaches travel vocabulary.
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