December 2023

If something smells very strongly and unpleasantly, we say that it reeks. People can reek too, usually when they’re covered in sweat. Figuratively, reek means ‘to give off or exude.’ As a noun, a reek is a strong unpleasant smell or, figuratively, a suggestion of something, usually something…

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A scale is one of the very thin plates that form the covering of fish or lizards, or any thin and flat thing that peels off any surface. As an uncountable noun, scale can be a coating that builds up on the inside of something, like a kettle or boiler, due to salts in the water. As a verb, to scale means…

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A mount is, as you might have heard, a mountain. As a verb, to mount means ‘to climb or go up,’ ‘to get up on something,’ like a platform or a horse, or ‘to put something in a high position.’ It also means ‘to organize or put in place’ and, when talking about an attack,…

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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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A flick is a light, sudden tap, as with a finger or a whip, and also the sound made by that tap. It is also a rapid movement. As a verb, to flick means ‘to strike with a light and sharp stroke,’ ‘to cause to move with such a stroke,’ or ‘to operate with such a stroke.’ If you flick through something, like pages, it means that you turn them quickly or idly. Unrelatedly, flick is a colloquial word for movie, although this sense is…

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