Intermediate+ Word of the Day

Stern can mean ‘firm or strict’ or ‘grim or forbidding in appearance.’ As a noun, it is the rear part of a…

Continue Reading

As a noun, a chime is set of bells that produce a musical tone when they are struck. Chime is also a name for any musical instrument that produces a similar sound. Each of the sounds these bells or instruments produce is called a chime…

Continue Reading

A span can be the extent or reach of something or the distance between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the little finger when the hand is fully extended. Also…

Continue Reading

A rev is an informal term; it is an abbreviation for a revolution of the crankshaft within an engine. The related verb means ‘to accelerate’ and it can have an engine, vehicle, or driver as its subject. Rev is also used figuratively, often followed by up, about other things and means ‘to increase’ in both activity and…

Continue Reading

The end of the year is almost here! To help us celebrate, you can write a short story inspired by our Word of the Day site!

Continue Reading

As you might already know, a trap is a device used for catching animals or birds or, figuratively, any trick for catching someone by surprise. A situation that’s hard to escape from is also a trap. And did you know that, as a slang term, trap means ‘mouth?’ Traps, always in the plural, are the…

Continue Reading

A nut is a dry fruit consisting of an edible kernel, enclosed in a woody shell. The kernel itself is also called a nut. A nut is also a metal block with a threaded hole allowing it to be screwed down on a bolt to hold the objects the bolt passes through together. Colloquially,…

Continue Reading

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…

Continue Reading

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…

Continue Reading