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Vocabulary

19,295 words · meanings, pronunciation and origins · ranked by use

Letter
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
Level
A1A2A2+B1B1+B2B2+C1C2
Part of speech
nounverbadjectiveadverbprepositionpronounphrase

325 words · showing 1–60

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  • a ballpark figurephraseC1A rough guess at a number, close enough to work with.
  • a blessing in disguisephraseC1Bad luck that secretly turns out to be good.
  • a can of wormsphraseC1A problem that spills into endless new problems once opened.
  • a drop in the oceanphraseC1An amount far too small to make any difference.
  • a hard nut to crackphraseC1A problem or a person that is very difficult to deal with.
  • a leopard cannot change its spots
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phrase
C1
People do not really alter their nature.
  • a piece of my mindphraseC1An angry telling-off you give someone who deserves it.
  • a piece of the piephraseC1Your fair share of the money or benefits.
  • a sight for sore eyesphraseC1Somebody or something you are very glad to see.
  • a stitch in time saves ninephraseC1Deal with a small problem now and avoid a big one later.
  • a tidy sumphraseC1A considerably larger amount of money than expected.
  • achilles heelphraseC1The one weak point in somebody otherwise strong.
  • act up/ækt ˈʌp/phraseC1To behave badly, or to stop working properly.
  • all else being equalphraseC1Assuming nothing else changes.
  • all handsphraseC1Every member of the crew, called on deck.
  • all the samephraseC12 meaningsNevertheless, in spite of what has been said.
  • an act of godphraseC1A disaster no person could have prevented.
  • as the crow fliesphraseC1Measured in a straight line, ignoring the roads.
  • at a loose endphraseC1With nothing in particular to do.
  • at arm's lengthphraseC1As far away as your reach, or kept at a distance.
  • at bayphraseC1Cornered and forced to face the pursuers.
  • at the eleventh hourphraseC1At the very last possible moment.
  • avert your eyesphraseC1To look away deliberately.
  • avert your gazephraseC1To deliberately look away.
  • back downphraseC1To abandon a position in an argument or confrontation.
  • bail outphraseC1To rescue somebody from trouble, usually with money.
  • barge inphraseC1To enter or interrupt rudely.
  • bark ordersphraseC1To give commands in a short harsh voice.
  • barking up the wrong treephraseC1Blaming or pursuing entirely the wrong thing.
  • be that as it mayphraseC1A formal way of setting an objection aside.
  • bear a resemblancephraseC1To look somewhat like somebody or something else.
  • bear responsibilityphraseC1To carry the duty for something.
  • bear upphraseC1To keep going bravely under strain.
  • bear witnessphraseC1To state formally what you saw or know.
  • beat around the bush/ˈbiːt əˌɹaʊ̯nd ðə bʊʃ/phraseC1To avoid saying the main thing directly.
  • below parphraseC1Not as good as the usual standard.
  • bend over backwardsphraseC1To try extremely hard to please someone.
  • bite the bulletphraseC1To finally face something painful you have been avoiding.
  • black hole/blæk ˈhoʊl/phraseB22 meaningsA region of space with gravity so strong that light cannot escape.
  • blink atphraseC1To react to something with a flicker of the eyes.
  • blow overphraseC1To pass without causing lasting trouble.
  • blurt outphraseC1To say something suddenly and without thinking.
  • board upphraseC1To cover windows and doors with planks.
  • boil down tophraseC1To be, in the end, a matter of one simple thing.
  • born with a silver spoon in your mouthphraseC1Born into wealth and privilege.
  • branch outphraseC1To start doing something new and different.
  • break evenphraseC1To end with exactly as much as you started with.
  • break the mouldphraseC1To do something in a completely new way.
  • bridge the gapphraseC1To reduce a difference between two things.
  • burn bridgesphraseC1To end relationships so badly you can never go back.
  • burn the candle at both endsphraseC1To exhaust yourself by doing far too much.
  • burn the midnight oilphraseC1To work late into the night.
  • burn your bridgesphraseC1To destroy a relationship you might have needed.
  • burst someone's bubblephraseC1To spoil somebody's happy illusion.
  • bury the hatchetphraseC1To agree to stop fighting and forget the quarrel.
  • butt inphraseC1To interrupt a conversation rudely.
  • buy offphraseC1To pay somebody to stop making trouble for you.
  • buy outphraseC1To purchase somebody's whole share in a business.
  • buy upphraseC1To purchase all or most of the available supply of something.
  • by and largephraseC1Mostly; in general.