Previous 1 Y words Flashcards
inner city
noun [ C ]
UK /ˌɪn.ə ˈsɪt.i/ US /ˌɪn.ɚ ˈsɪt̬.i/
the central part of a city where people live and where there are often problems because people are poor and there are few jobs and bad houses:
- a child from the inner city
22-fold difference
-fold
suffix
UK / -fəʊld/ US / -foʊld/
having the stated number of parts, or multiplied by the stated number:
- threefold
- fourfold
- The problems are twofold - firstly, economic, and secondly, political.
- In the last 50 years, there has been a 33-fold increase in the amount of pesticide used in farming.
startle
verb [ T ]
UK /ˈstɑː.təl/ US /ˈstɑːr.t̬əl/
напугать, испугать, сильно удивить, всполошить
to do something unexpected that surprises and sometimes worries a person or animal:
- She was concentrating on her book and his voice startled her.
- The noise of the car startled the birds and the whole flock flew up into the air.
- Her article on diet startled many people into changing their eating habits.
startling
adjective US /ˈstɑrt̬·əl·ɪŋ/
- We’ve made some startling discoveries.
beg
verb
UK /beɡ/ US /beɡ/
B2 [ I or T ]
to make a very strong and urgent request:
- They begged for mercy.
- [ + speech ] “Please, please forgive me!” she begged (him).
- [ + obj + to infinitive ] He begged her to stay, but she simply laughed and put her bags in the car.
B2 [ I or T ]
to ask for food or money because you are poor:
- There are more and more homeless people begging on the streets these days.
- She had to beg for money and food for her children.
He begged a loan from his boss.
[ I ]
If a dog begs, it sits with its front legs in the air as if to ask for something:
They have trained their dog to sit up and beg.
I beg your pardon - a polite way of saying “I am sorry” or “Could you repeat what you just said?”
gap year
noun [ C ] UK
UK /ˈɡæp ˌjɪər/ US /ˈɡæp ˌjɪr/
a year between leaving school and starting university that is usually spent travelling or working:
- I didn’t take a gap year. Did you?
ladder
noun
UK /ˈlæd.ər/ US /ˈlæd.ɚ/
a piece of equipment used for climbing up and down, that consists of two vertical bars or pieces of rope joined to each other by a set of horizontal steps:
- She was up a ladder, cleaning the window.
- Getting up the ladder was easy enough - it was coming down that was the problem.
- The ladder won’t quite reach the top of the wall.
- My son broke a rib when he fell off a ladder.
- That ladder doesn’t look safe.
- One of the steps on the ladder is broken.
ladder noun (SERIES OF STAGES)
C1 [ S ]
a series of increasingly important jobs or stages in a particular type of work or process:
- Once he started at Paramount in 1967, he moved rapidly up the corporate ladder.
- a first rung/step on the employment ladder
[ C ] UK
(US run)
a long, vertical hole in a pair of tights or a stocking
adder noun (COMPETITION)
[ C ] mainly UK
(also ladder tournament)
(in particular sports) a system in which all the players who play regularly are given a position in a list and can improve their position by beating other players in that list:
- a squash ladder
ladder
verb [ I or T ] UK
UK /ˈlæd.ər/ US /ˈlæd.ɚ/
to climb or mount by means of a ladder:
- to ladder a wall.
to furnish with a ladder:
- to ladder a water tower.
(US run)
If a pair of tights or a stocking ladders or if you ladder it, a long hole appears in it:
- Damn! That’s the second pair of tights I’ve laddered today!
shelter
noun [ C or U ]
UK /ˈʃel.tər/ US /ˈʃel.t̬ɚ/
(a building designed to give) protection from bad weather, danger, or attack:
- an air-raid shelter
- They opened a shelter to provide temporary housing for the city’s homeless.
- The trees gave/provided some shelter from the rain.
shelter
verb
UK /ˈʃel.tər/ US /ˈʃel.t̬ɚ/
shelter verb (PROTECT)
C2 [ I or T ]
to protect yourself, or another person or thing, from bad weather, danger, or attack:
- We were caught in a thunderstorm, without anywhere to shelter.
- A group of us were sheltering from the rain under the trees.
Meaning of shelter in English
shelter
noun [ C or U ]
UK /ˈʃel.tər/ US /ˈʃel.t̬ɚ/
B2
(a building designed to give) protection from bad weather, danger, or attack:
an air-raid shelter
They opened a shelter to provide temporary housing for the city’s homeless.
The trees gave/provided some shelter from the rain.
find/take shelter
B2
to protect yourself from bad weather, danger, or attack:
We took shelter for the night in an abandoned house.
More examples
There was no shelter from the merciless heat.
The bomb shelter has concrete walls that are three metres thick.
Spare a thought for all those without shelter on a cold night like this.
An upturned boat on the beach provided shelter.
When the air raid siren went off people ran to their shelters.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
shelter
verb
UK /ˈʃel.tər/ US /ˈʃel.t̬ɚ/
shelter verb (PROTECT)
C2 [ I or T ]
to protect yourself, or another person or thing, from bad weather, danger, or attack:
We were caught in a thunderstorm, without anywhere to shelter.
A group of us were sheltering from the rain under the trees.
Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples
[ T ]
to give someone a secret hiding place so that they will not be caught by the army, police, etc.:
- Local people risked their own lives to shelter resistance fighters from the army.
shelter verb (AVOID TAX)
[ T ] US
If you shelter income, you legally avoid paying taxes on it:
- Their accountant suggested some novel ways of sheltering their retirement income.
conceive
verb
UK /kənˈsiːv/ US /kənˈsiːv/
conceive verb (IMAGINE)
C2 [ I or T ]
to imagine something:
- I think my uncle still conceives of me as a four-year-old.
- He couldn’t conceive of a time when he would have no job.
- [ + question word ] I can’t conceive (= it is too shocking to imagine) how anyone could behave so cruelly.
- [ + that ] I find it hard to conceive (= it is too shocking to imagine) that people are still treated so badly.
conceive verb (INVENT)
C2 [ T ]
to invent a plan or an idea:
- He conceived the plot for this film while he was still a student.
- The exhibition was conceived by the museum’s director.
conceive verb (BECOME PREGNANT)
C2 [ I or T ]
to become pregnant, or to cause a baby to begin to form:
- Do you know exactly when you conceived?
- The baby was conceived in March, so will be born in December.
byproduct
noun [ C ] (also by-product)
US /ˈbɑɪˌprɑd·əkt, -ʌkt/
something that is produced as a result of making something else, or something unexpected that happens as a result of something else:
- The deep depression he fell into was a byproduct of his disease.
thaw
verb
UK /θɔː/ US /θɑː/
thaw verb (BECOME NOT FROZEN)
[ I or T ]
to (cause to) change from a solid, frozen state to a liquid or soft one, because of an increase in temperature:
- Allow the meat to thaw completely before cooking it.
- The sun came out and thawed the ice.
- It’s beginning to thaw (= the weather is warm enough for snow and ice to melt).
thaw verb (BECOME FRIENDLY)
[ I ]
to become friendlier or more relaxed:
- The report shows that relations between the two enemies may be thawing.
rule sth out
— phrasal verb with rule verb
UK /ruːl/ US /ruːl/
to prevent something from happening:
- This recent wave of terrorism has ruled out any chance of peace talks.
scatter
verb
UK /ˈskæt.ər/ US /ˈskæt̬.ɚ/
scatter verb (MOVE)
[ I or T ]
to (cause to) move far apart in different directions:
- The protesters scattered at the sound of gunshots.
- The soldiers came in and scattered the crowd.
scatter verb (COVER)
[ T usually + adv/prep ]
to cover a surface with things that are far apart and in no particular arrangement:
- Scatter the powder around the plants.
- I scattered grass seed all over the lawn.
- I scattered the whole lawn with grass seed.
seal
verb [ T ]
UK /siːl/ US /siːl/
seal verb [T] (COVERING)
C2
to close an entrance or container so that nothing can enter or leave it
- he folded it, sealed the envelope, and walked to the mailbox
to cover a surface with a special liquid to protect it:
- This floor has just been sealed (with varnish), so don’t walk on it!
to close a letter or parcel by sticking the edges together:
- Seal the package (up) with tape.
- He sealed (down) the envelope and put a stamp on it.
to make an agreement more certain or to approve it formally:
- The two leaders sealed their agreement with a handshake.
cavity
noun [ C ]
UK /ˈkæv.ə.ti/ US /ˈkæv.ə.t̬i/
cavity noun [C] (HOLE)
- the abdominal/chest cavity
a hole, or an empty space between two surfaces:
- The gold was hidden in a secret cavity.
A cavity is also a hollow place in a tooth caused by decay.
cavity noun [C] (IN THE BODY)
MEDICAL specialized
a hollow space in an organ or body part:
- the upper nasal cavity
excess
noun
UK /ɪkˈses/ /ˈek.ses/ US /ɪkˈses/ /ˈek.ses/
excess noun (TOO MUCH)
C1 [ S or U ]
an amount that is more than acceptable, expected, or reasonable:
- An excess of enthusiasm is not always a good thing.
- They both eat to excess (= too much).
- There will be an increase in tax for those earning in excess of (= more than) twice the national average wage.
actions far past the limit of what is acceptable:
- For many years people were trying to escape the excesses (= cruel actions) of the junta.
- As for shoes, her excesses (= the large number she owned) were well known.
condiment
noun [ C ] formal
UK /ˈkɒn.dɪ.mənt/ US /ˈkɑːn.də.mənt/
приправа
a substance, such as salt, that you add to food to improve its taste
catch up
— phrasal verb with catch verb
UK /kætʃ/ US /kætʃ/
caught | caught
(REACH SAME STANDARD)
C1
to reach the same quality or standard as someone or something else:
- Will Western industry ever catch up with Japanese innovations?
- He was off school for a while and is finding it hard to catch up.
(DO SOMETHING)
B2
to do something you did not have time to do earlier:
- She’s staying late at the office to catch up with/on some reports.
(DISCUSS)
B2
to learn or discuss the latest news:
- Let’s go for a coffee - I need to catch up on all the gossip.
leap
verb [ I + adv/prep ]
UK /liːp/ US /liːp/
leaped or leapt | leaped or leapt
leap verb [I + adv/prep] (MOVE SUDDENLY)
C2
to make a large jump or sudden movement, usually from one place to another:
- He leaped out of his car and ran towards the house.
- I leaped up to answer the phone.
- The dog leaped over the gate into the field.
leap verb [I + adv/prep] (HAPPEN SUDDENLY)
to provide help, protection, etc. very quickly:
He leaped to his friend’s defence.
- Scott leapt to the rescue when he spotted the youngster in difficulty.
- Mr Davies leaped in to explain.
to achieve something suddenly, usually fame, power, or importance:
- He leapt to fame after his appearance in a Broadway play.
to increase, improve, or grow very quickly:
- Shares in the company leaped 250 percent.