Intermediate+ Word of the Day: hob

In UK English, a hob is the flat top part of a cooking stove or a separate flat surface with burners that we use for cooking. It is also a projection at the back or side of a fireplace used for keeping food or other things warm, although this sense is not much used anymore. In games…

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Intermediate+ Word of the Day: flack

In US slang, a flack is a press agent and, as an uncountable noun, also publicity. To flack means ‘to work as a press agent’ or ‘to promote or publicize.’ Unrelatedly, in a military context, flack, also spelled flak, is antiaircraft fire. Related to this, figuratively, flack or flak is strong and harsh criticism, usually a great deal of…

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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: foster

To foster means ‘to promote the growth or development of something’ or ‘to bring up and raise’ children or young that are not your own. When we are talking about a plan, hope, or feeling, it means ‘to care for or cherish.’ As an adjective, foster relates to someone or something that provides or receives parental care despite the absence of relationship by blood…

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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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