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Intermediate+ Word of the Day: stray

To stray means ‘to wander,’ ‘to move away from the proper course,’ and also ‘to become distracted and digress.’ As a noun, a stray is a domestic animal, such as a dog or cat, found wandering and without an owner. Figuratively, a homeless or friendless person can also be called a stray…

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Intermediate+ Word of the Day: pan

A pan is a metal container, usually shallow, used for cooking things on the stove top or, in US English a shallow metal container for baking (in UK English, these are called “tins”). It is also a dish-shaped container, like you find on kitchen scales or the container in which gold is separated from gravel. As a verb, to pan means ‘to separate gold from gravel’ and informally, ‘to criticize harshly.’ In show business, to pan means ‘to move the camera…

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Intermediate+ Word of the Day: swell

To swell means ‘to enlarge in size or weight,’ ‘to increase in amount or degree,’ and also ‘to rise in volume.’ In medicine, when something swells it means that it increases abnormally in size. Relating to emotions, we use swell to mean…

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Intermediate+ Word of the Day: frame

A frame is a border used to enclose a picture or a photo or, in building, a structure used as support, or a structure used for enclosing something, such as a door or window. Frame also means physique, if we are talking about the human body. In cinema, a frame is…

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Intermediate+ Word of the Day: bud

A bud is the small part on the end of a plant from which leaves or flowers grow. In some organisms, a bud is a prominence that develops into a new individual, and in general, any round small rounded part on a body can be called a bud, especially the rounded protuberances from which horns sprout. Figuratively, an…

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Intermediate+ Word of the Day: fair

If something is fair, it means that it’s ‘honest, just and free from bias.’ Fair also means ‘moderate,’ as in neither too good or too bad, and ‘somewhat large.’ If we are talking about color, it means ‘light, not dark’ and, when we refer to the weather, it means…

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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: folk

Folk, usually in the plural form folks in US English but more commonly as folk (but used with a plural verb) in UK English, means ‘people in general’. It can also mean ‘people of a particular group’, when used with an adjective. In sociology, folk…

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Intermediate+ Word of the Day: bond

A bond is something that binds things together or an agreement or feeling that unites two people. A strong promise is a bond and so is an agreement in which someone guarantees to pay an amount of money before a specific day or the money paid as a…

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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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