Intermediate+ Word of the Day: trench

A trench is a narrow area dug out of the ground as a defense against the enemy and, more generally, any deep ditch or cut in the ground or a deep depression in the ocean floor. As a verb, to trench means surround or fortify with trenches or to form a trench. In agriculture, it means…

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Intermediate+ Word of the Day: slope

To slope means ‘to have an inclined or oblique direction or angle’ and also ‘to move at such inclination.’ To form something with such an inclination is also to slope. As a noun, a slope is ground that has a natural inclination, like the sides of a hill. It is also the inclination itself or any other inclined…

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Intermediate+ Word of the Day: bog

A bog is an area of wet, moist, and spongy ground and the verb to bog, usually followed by down, means ‘to sink in or as if in such an area.’ In UK slang, bog means ‘toilet’ and, if you are talking about a public toilet or the toilet facilities in a establishment open to the public, like a bar or restaurant, then the word is often…

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Intermediate+ Word of the Day: clod

A clod is a lump or a mass of soil or earth and it can also be used to mean ‘soil or earth’ in general. Clod can also be used figuratively to refer to the human body, as a literary term, in reference to humans having been created by God from the dust of the ground. Informally, you can call a stupid person a clod. Unrelatedly, a clod is a meat cut…

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Intermediate+ Word of the Day: creep

To creep means ‘to move slowly with the body close to the ground,’ ‘to approach slowly and without getting noticed’ or ‘to become noticed slowly over time.’ A creep is of course the act of creeping, but, as a slang term it is also a word for someone you find very strange or unpleasant. This slang sense is more common in the US, where it can also describe a person who makes us uncomfortable, or…

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Intermediate+ Word of the Day: mud

Mud is what results from mixing earth and water, like what we find on the ground after rain or along the bank of a river. Informally, mud is also scandalous or false and harmful claims or information about something or someone, most often in the expression…

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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…

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Intermediate+ Word of the Day: hump

A hump is a rounded lump that sticks up, like the one on the back of a camel. A low rise over the ground’s surface is also called a hump. As a verb to hump means ‘to raise the back as to form a hump,’ like some animals do when they’re scared or annoyed. Informally, in US English…

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Intermediate+ Word of the Day: ditch

A ditch is a narrow channel dug in the ground and used for draining or irrigating land or any natural channel or waterway. The verb ditch means ‘to dig a ditch’ and also ‘to crash a plane into water.’ Colloquially, to ditch means…

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