- word
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 unit of languageADJECTIVE▪ two-letter, three-letter, etc.▪ monosyllabic, polysyllabic▪ two-syllable, three-syllable, etc.▪ big, difficult, fancy, hard, long▪
He uses big words to impress people.
▪‘Mendacity’ is just a fancy word for ‘lying’.
▪ polite▪a more polite word for the same thing
▪ unfamiliar▪ simple▪The book uses simple words and pictures to explain complex processes.
▪ compound, portmanteau (esp. BrE)▪The portmanteau word ‘synergy’ combines ‘synthesis’ and ‘energy’.
▪ native▪ borrowed, loan▪When a new fruit is first imported, its name is usually also imported as a loan word.
▪ foreign▪ Greek, Hebrew, Latin, etc.▪‘Technology’ comes from the Greek word ‘techne’.
▪ content, function▪ rhyming▪The children are asked to think of rhyming words.
▪ exact, precise, very▪His exact words were, ‘There's nothing we can do about it.’
▪Those were her very words.
▪ clear, plain▪ ambiguous▪ loaded▪She used loaded words like ‘bully’ when describing his actions.
▪ abstract, concrete▪ everyday▪I find even everyday words difficult to spell.
▪ archaic, obsolete▪ key▪He wrote down a few key words to help him remember what to say.
▪ operative▪He seemed nice. But ‘seemed’ was the operative word.
▪ right, wrong▪You can't always find the right word when you're translating.
▪ misspelled▪I found several misspelled words and grammatical errors.
▪ bad, curse (AmE), cuss (AmE, informal), dirty, four-letter, naughty, obscene, rude, taboo▪The play is full of four-letter words.
▪Work is a dirty word to Frank. (figurative)
(see also swear word)▪ slang▪It's a slang word meaning ‘boy’ or ‘person’.
▪ household▪His name has become a household word since he first appeared in the series.
▪ code▪The police use code words for their major operations.
▪ buzz (usually buzzword), vogue▪E-marketing is the current buzzword.
▪ magic▪ printed, spoken, written▪She combines visual images and the spoken word to great effect in her presentations.
VERB + WORD▪ have▪Spanish has no word for ‘understatement’.
▪ use▪He uses lots of long words.
▪ mention▪I daren't even mention the word ‘money’ to him.
▪ form, make▪Rearrange the letters to form a word.
▪ pronounce▪How is this word pronounced?
▪ mispronounce▪ spell▪ misuse▪a word that is often misused
▪ know, speak, understand▪I don't speak a word of Swedish.
▪ look up▪She looked the word up in the dictionary.
▪ find▪I couldn't find the right word to express the concept.
▪ choose, pick▪He chose his words carefully when commenting on her work.
▪ translate▪ coin, invent▪The word ‘e-commerce’ was coined to refer to business done over the Internet.
WORD + VERB▪ mean sth, signify sth▪ refer to sth, relate to sth▪ convey sth, describe sth, express sth▪words describing body parts
▪Words can't express how happy I am.
▪ conjure sth up, evoke sth▪The word ‘cruise’ conjures up images of a luxury.
▪ imply sth▪ denote sth▪Bold words denote chapter headings.
▪ carry sth, have sth▪The same word can carry numerous meanings.
▪The word has two meanings.
▪ be derived from sth, come from sth, derive from sth▪‘Window’ derives from a Norse word meaning ‘eye of the wind’.
▪ begin with sth, end in sth, end with sth▪a word beginning with ‘c’
▪ rhyme (with sth), sound like sth▪The words at the end of the lines all rhyme.
▪I'm not sure what he said but the word sounded like ‘bull’.
▪ fail sb▪Words fail me (= I cannot express how I feel).
WORD + NOUN▪ game, puzzle▪ identification, recognition▪These students have very poor word-recognition skills.
▪ choice▪ association▪ formation▪ listPREPOSITION▪ in sb's words▪The students had to retell the story in their own words.
▪ word for▪What's the French word for ‘snail’?
▪ word in▪one of the most common words in the English language
PHRASES▪ in all senses of the word▪She was a true friend in all senses of the word.
▪ in other words▪They're letting me go—in other words, I've been sacked.
▪ in so many words▪They told me in so many words (= directly) that I was no longer needed.
▪ in the true sense of the word▪People who overeat are not addicts in the true sense of the word.
▪ in words of one syllable (= using very simple language)▪Could you say that again in words of one syllable?
2 a word that you say or writeADJECTIVE▪ angry, cross (esp. BrE), hard, harsh▪He never says a harsh word about his experiences.
▪ hurtful, unkind▪ friendly, good, kind, nice▪He hasn't a good word to say for anybody.
▪ final, last (no plural)▪The Chairman always has the last word (= the final decision) on financial decisions.
VERB + WORD▪ put in, say, speak, utter▪If you run into the boss, put in a good word for me!
▪Nobody's uttered a word to me about it.
▪Every word he utters is is considered sacred.
▪ give, say▪Just say the word and I'll go.
▪ scream, shout, yell▪He kept shouting the word ‘No!’
▪ repeat▪ whisper▪He whispered the word to me.
▪ slur▪I knew he'd been drinking because he was slurring his words.
▪ enunciate▪He enunciated the word with extreme care.
▪ not breathe▪Don't breathe a word to anyone about what I've told you!
▪ type, write▪ scrawl, scribble▪ inscribe▪ hear, read▪ mishear, misread▪I misheard the word ‘sick’ as ‘thick’.
▪ cross out, delete, erase, rub out (BrE)▪ insert, substitute▪She deleted ‘girl’ and substituted the word ‘woman’.
▪ emphasize, stress▪By emphasizing particular words you can change the meaning.
▪ hang on▪The journalists hung on his every word as he spoke of his ordeal.
WORD + NOUN▪ count▪Don't waffle in your essay just to get the right word count.
PREPOSITION▪ in a word▪‘Would you like to help us?’ ‘In a word (= briefly), no.’
▪ without a word▪She left without a word.
▪ word about▪We never heard anyone say an unkind word about her.
▪ word from▪And now a word from our sponsors …
▪ word of▪a word of advice/warning
PHRASES▪ get a word in, get a word in edgeways (BrE), get a word in edgewise (AmE)▪I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't get a word in.
▪ a man of few words, a woman of few words (= a person who speaks very little)▪ sb never spoke a truer word, never was a truer word spoken▪You said we were about to make a big mistake, and never was a truer word spoken!
(= you were right)▪ not a single word, not a word▪Remember—not a word to (= don't tell) Peter about any of this.
▪We didn't say a single word to each other all day.
▪ not believe a word▪I don't believe a word of what she said.
▪ word for word (= exactly)▪He repeated word for word what the boy had said to him.
▪ (by) word of mouth▪The restaurant does not advertise, but relies on word of mouth.
▪ words per minute, words per second▪He chatters away at about 200 words per minute.
▪He types 80 words per minute.
▪ a word to the wise (= a piece of advice)▪A word to the wise: just because it's a bargain doesn't mean you have to buy it.
3 words what sb says; talkADJECTIVE▪ few▪I want to say a few words (= talk) about Christina.
▪ good, friendly, kind▪Thank you for those kind words.
▪ unkind▪ angry, bitter, blunt, choice (ironic), cross, hard, harsh, strong▪ hurtful▪ polite▪She was charmed by his friendly smile and polite words.
▪ flattering, honeyed▪ comforting, encouraging, soothing▪He tried to calm her with soothing words.
▪ discouraging▪ empty, fine (ironic), meaningless▪Despite all their fine words, the council have never done anything to improve road safety.
▪ weasel▪The government's promises on nurses' pay turned out to be weasel words (= deliberately unclear).
▪ bold, brave▪Despite his brave words, I don't believe he can save the factory from closure.
▪ wise▪ well-chosen▪He ruined her self-confidence with a few well-chosen words.
▪ cautionary▪ soft, whispered▪They exchanged whispered words of love.
▪ unspoken▪The look in her eyes filled in the unspoken words in her sentence.
▪ dying, last▪Her last words were for her children.
▪ parting▪Her parting words were ‘I'll be back’.
▪ famous, immortal▪the immortal words of Neil Armstrong as he stepped onto the moon
▪ fateful, prophetic▪Seconds after uttering the fateful words ‘this is easy!’ he crashed.
VERB + WORDS▪ have▪She had some harsh words to say about her colleagues.
▪ say, speak▪Before we begin, I'd like to say a few words about who I am.
▪ chant, intone, recite, sing▪ repeat▪ mouth▪The audience mouthed the words to all the songs.
▪ whisper▪He whispered a few words of prayer.
▪ blurt, blurt out▪She had blurted the words out before she realized it.
▪ mumble, murmur, mutter▪ spit, spit out▪She was so furious, she almost spat the words out: ‘You idiot!’
▪ bandy, exchange, have▪I usually exchange a few words with him when I see him.
▪Words were exchanged (= there was an argument).
▪ memorize▪She had memorized all the words to the song.
▪ recall, remember▪We recall the words of Martin Luther King, ‘Free at last’.
▪ heed▪She has given us a warning, and we should heed her words.
▪ quote▪ distort, twist▪She felt angry at how the journalist had twisted her words.
▪ borrow, echo▪In her speech she echoed the President's words.
▪ regret▪She instantly regretted her words.
▪ eat, take back▪When he told her she would fail, she swore she would make him eat his words.
▪ drown, drown out▪Her words were drowned out by the roar of the engine.
▪ not mince▪He doesn't mince his words when he talks about his ex-boss.
WORDS + VERB▪ conjure sth up, evoke sth▪Her words conjured up a strange picture in her mind.
▪ come, come out, emerge, leave sb's lips, leave sb's mouth▪ burst from sb, escape, fall, flow, pour out, slip out, spill out, tumble out▪He was nervous, and his words came out in a rush.
▪His words fell into the silence like stones.
▪ stick in your throat▪He wanted to tell her how he felt about her, but the words stuck in his throat.
▪ drift, float, hang in the air▪I let my words hang in the air. Maggie was no fool: she must realize I meant it.
▪ haunt sb, linger▪Those mocking words haunted me for years.
▪The words lingered in his mind long after they were spoken.
▪ echo, resonate, resound, reverberate, ring▪Her teacher's words echoed in her ears.
▪ fade, fade away, tail away, tail off, trail away, trail off▪His words faded to silence as he saw she didn't believe him.
▪ hit home, strike a chord, strike home, touch a chord▪ hurt, sting▪ sink in▪She could feel her temper boiling as his words sank in.
PREPOSITION▪ words of▪She whispered words of comfort in his ear.
▪I listened to his words of wisdom.
PHRASES▪ (you) mark my words (= believe me)▪Mark my words, this film will win an Oscar.
4 a word conversationADJECTIVE▪ quick▪ quiet▪The manager had a quiet word with Alison, and she gave him no more problems.
VERB + A WORD▪ have▪I've had a few words with John, and he's quite happy for you to stay.
▪I've had a word with John, and he's quite happy for you to stay.
PREPOSITION▪ word with▪Can I have a quick word with you?
PHRASES▪ a word in sb's ear (BrE)▪Can I have a word in your ear about tomorrow's presentation?
5 promiseADJECTIVE▪ solemn▪She gave him her solemn word that she would give up drugs.
VERB + WORD▪ give sb▪ be as good as, be true to, keep▪He promised to help and was as good as his word.
▪True to her word, she returned next day.
▪ break, go back on▪Once he has made a promise, he never goes back on his word.
▪ believe, trust▪She gave me a promise, and I'm willing to trust her word.
▪ doubt▪I'm sorry I doubted your word.
PHRASES▪ have sb's word for sth (esp. BrE)▪We only have her word for it that she sent the payment.
▪ a man of his word, a woman of her word▪You needn't worry about him not paying you back—he's a man of his word.
▪ take sb at their word▪He said I could stay at his house any time, so I took him at his word.
▪ take sb's word for sth▪I haven't seen his work, but I'll take his word for it that it's finished.
▪ your word against sb's▪If it's your word against the police officer's, the jury are going to believe him.
▪ sb's word is their bond▪ word of honour/honor▪He gave me his word of honour/honor that he wouldn't tell anyone.
6 information/newsVERB + WORD▪ bring, get, send▪He sent word to his family that his captors were treating him well.
▪ get, hear▪We didn't get word of her arrest until the next day.
▪ spreadWORD + VERB▪ get out, leak, leak out▪If word gets out about the affair, he will have to resign.
▪ spread▪Word that he had died spread fast.
▪ be, have it▪The word is they've split up.
▪Word has it that she's leaving.
PREPOSITION▪ word about▪Health workers spread the word about the benefits of immunization.
▪ word of▪We soon got word of his arrival.
PHRASES▪ the word on the street is (= people are saying)▪The word on the street is there's going to be a takeover.
▪ what's the word? (= what are people saying?){{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}verbADVERB▪ carefully, cautiously▪We need to word our question carefully.
▪ ambiguously, vaguely▪ broadly, loosely▪ poorly▪a poorly worded request that resulted in confusion
▪ strongly▪He issued a very strongly worded statement denying any involvement in the plot.
▪ differently▪It's the same sentiment, though worded rather differently.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
