American English

pepper

pep·per [pepper peppers peppered peppering] noun, verb   [ˈpepə(r)]    [ˈpepər]

noun

1. uncountable a powder made from dried berries (called peppercorns), used to give a hot flavour to food

• Season with salt and pepper

• freshly ground pepper

see also  black pepper, cayenne, white pepper

2. (BrE) (also ˌsweet ˈpepper BrE, NAmE) (NAmE ˈbell pepper) countable, uncountable a hollow fruit, usually red, green or yellow, eaten as a vegetable either raw or cooked

Word Origin:

Old English piper, pipor, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch peper and German Pfeffer; via Latin from Greek peperi, from Sanskrit pippalī ‘berry, peppercorn’.

Example Bank:

• Add salt and pepper to taste.

• He gave me a great recipe for stuffed peppers.

• He put some pepper on his steak.

• freshly ground black pepper

• peppers stuffed with meat and rice

Derived: pepper somebody with something ▪ pepper something with something 

improve

im·prove [improve improves improved improving]   [ɪmˈpruːv]    [ɪmˈpruːv]  verb intransitive, transitive
to become better than before; to make sth/sb better than before
• His quality of life has improved dramatically since the operation.
• The doctor says she should continue to improve (= after an illness).
• I hope my French will improve when I go to France.
• ~ sth to improve standards
• The company needs to improve performance in all these areas.
• I need to improve my French.
Derived: improve on something
Verb forms:

 
Word Origin:
early 16th cent. (as emprowe or improwe): from Anglo-Norman French emprower (based on Old French prou ‘profit’, ultimately from Latin prodest ‘is of advantage’); -owe was changed to -ove under the influence of prove. The original sense was ‘make a profit, increase the value of’; subsequently ‘make greater in amount or degree’.  
Thesaurus:
improve verb
1. T
• The graphics on the website have been greatly improved.
reform • • refine • • enhance • |written enrich •
formal Opp: impair
improve/refine/enhance/enrich your understanding
improve/refine/enhance your knowledge
improve/enhance/enrich your life
2. I
• His quality of life improved after the operation.
pick up • • advance • • progress • • develop • • get better • |informal look up • • come along/on •
Opp: worsen, Opp: deteriorate
start/begin/continue to improve/pick up/advance/progress/develop/get better/look up
fail to improve/advance/progress/get better
improve/pick up/advance/progress/develop/get better slowly/gradually/slightly/dramatically  
Example Bank:
• The situation has improved dramatically during the last few months.
• The weather should continue to improve over the weekend.
• They are trying to improve the working conditionsin their factories.
• This legislation will vastly improve the quality of life of New Zealanders.
• We now offer a much improved service to our customers.
• Workers need to be given an incentive to improve their performance.
• Working and living conditions have generally improved.
• measures aimed at improving government efficiency
• the new and improved version of the website
• trying to improve their working conditions
• Bringing the issue of pay into the debate did not improve matters.
• My father's mood had noticeably improved during the afternoon.
• The company has greatly improved its performance over the past few years.
• The doctor says she should continue to improve.
• The economy had improved markedly.
• There have been renewed attempts to improve conditions for younger prisoners.
• They're introducing a vastly improved public transport system.
• We expect the situation to improve slightly.

• You can significantly improve your chances of getting a job by compiling a good

imaginative

im·agina·tive   [ɪˈmædʒɪnətɪv]    [ɪˈmædʒɪnətɪv]  adjective

having or showing new and exciting ideas

Syn:  inventive

• an imaginative approach/idea/child

• recipes that make imaginative use of seasonal vegetables

• You'll need to be a little more imaginative if you want to hold their attention.

Opp:  unimaginative

Derived Word: imaginatively 

Word Origin:

[imaginative imaginatively] late Middle English: from Old French imaginatif, -ive, from medieval Latin imaginativus, from Latin imaginat- ‘represented as an image’, from imago, imagin- ‘image’.

Example Bank:

• You'll need to be a little more imaginative if you want to hold their attention.

• an imaginative child

glass

glass [glass glasses glassed glassing] noun, verb   [ɡlɑːs]    [ɡlæs] 

noun

TRANSPARENT SUBSTANCE

1. uncountable a hard, usually transparent, substance used, for example, for making windows and bottles

• a sheet/pane of glass

• frosted/toughened glass

• a glass bottle/dish/roof

• I cut myself on a piece of broken glass.

• The vegetables are grown under glass (= in a greenhouse ).

see also  cut glass, plate glass, stained glass, glazier  

FOR DRINKING

2. countable (often in compounds) a container made of glass, used for drinking out of

• a sherry glass

• a wine glass

3. countable the contents of a glass

• a glass of sherry/wine/water, etc.

• He drank three whole glasses.  

GLASS OBJECTS

4. uncountable objects made of glass

• We keep all our glass and china in this cupboard.

• She has a fine collection of Bohemian glass.

5. singular a protecting cover made of glass on a watch, picture or photograph frame, fire alarm, etc

• In case of emergency, break the glass and press the button.  

FOR EYES

6. glasses (NAmE also eye·glasses) (also old-fashioned or formal spec·tacles, informal specs especially in BrE) plural two lenses in a frame that rests on the nose and ears. People wear glasses in order to be able to see better or to protect their eyes from bright light

• a pair of glasses

• dark glasses

• I wear glasses for driving.

see also  field glasses, magnifying glass, sunglasses  

MIRROR

7. countable, usually singular (old-fashioned) a mirror

see also  looking glass  

BAROMETER

8. the glass singular a barometer

see people (who live) in glass houses shouldn't throw stones at  people  n., raise your glass at  raise  v.

Word Origin:

Old English glæs, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch glas and German Glas.

Example Bank:

• He could see the light through the frosted glass.

• He had a small glass of lager with his meal.

• He heard glasses clinking in the other room.

• He poured her a fresh glass of sherry.

• He sat back, glass in hand.

• I handed her a glass of wine.

• I put my glass down on the table.

• She cut her foot on some glass.

• She had had three glasses of whisky already.

• She raised the glass to her lips.

• She sat sipping a glass of champagne.

• The books were all behind glass.

• The butler was polishing the brandy glasses.

• The factory makes safety glass.

• The floor was littered with fragments of broken glass.

• The waiter filled their glasses.

• They clinked glasses, still laughing.

• We grow fruit under glass= in a glasshouse.

• We watched the craftsmen blowing glass.

• a boat made of glass fibre/fiber

• a set of crystal glasses

• a tall glass of milk

• beer in a pint glass

• growing fruit under glass

• the red liquid in his glass

• the sound of breaking glass

• watching the Venetian craftsmen blowing glass

Derived: glass something in 

verb ~ sb (BrE, informal)

to hit sb in the face with a glass

Word Origin:

Old English glæs, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch glas and German Glas.

See also: eyeglasses ▪ specs

looking glass

ˈlooking glass [looking glass]       noun (old-fashioned)

a mirror

pea

pea [pea peas]   [piː]    [piː]  noun

a small round green seed, eaten as a vegetable. Several peas grow together inside a long thin pod on a climbing plant also called a pea

• frozen peas

• pea soup

see also  chickpea, mushy peas, split pea, sweet pea 

Word Origin:

mid 17th cent.: back-formation from pease (interpreted as plural).

lemon

lemon [lemon lemons] noun, adjective   [ˈlemən]    [ˈlemən] 

noun

1. countable, uncountable a yellow citrus fruit with a lot of sour juice. Slices of lemon and lemon juice are used in cooking and drinks

• lemon tea

• a gin and tonic with ice and lemon

• Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the fish.

• a lemon tree

2. uncountable lemon juice or a drink made from lemon

see also  bitter lemon

3. (also ˌlemon ˈyellow) uncountable a pale yellow colour

4. countable (informal, especially NAmE) a thing that is useless because it does not work as it should

Syn:  dud

5. countable (BrE) a stupid person

Word Origin:

Middle English: via Old French limon (in modern French denoting a lime) from Arabic līmūn (a collective term for fruits of this kind); compare with lime  (the fruit).

Example Bank:

• Garnish the fish with wedges of lemon.

• Squeeze a quarter of a lemon over the fish.

Syn:  idiot

adjective (also ˌlemon ˈyellow)

pale yellow in colour

Word Origin:

Middle English: via Old French limon (in modern French denoting a lime) from Arabic līmūn (a collective term for fruits of this kind); compare with lime  (the fruit).

rug

rug [rug rugs]   [rʌɡ]    [rʌɡ]  noun

1. a piece of thick material like a small carpet that is used for covering or decorating part of a floor

• a hearth rug (= in front of a fireplace )

• an oriental rug

• a sheepskin rug
 

2. (BrE) a piece of thick warm material, like a blanket, that is used for wrapping around your legs to keep warm

• a travelling rug

• a tartan rug

3. (informal, especially NAmE) =  toupee

see pull the rug (out) from under sb's feet at  pull  v., sweep sth under the rug at  sweep  v.

Word Origin:

mid 16th cent. (denoting a type of coarse woollen cloth): probably of Scandinavian origin; compare with Norwegian dialect rugga ‘coverlet’, Swedish rugg ‘ruffled hair’; related to rag  ‘piece of cloth’. The sense ‘small carpet’ dates from the early 19th cent.

Example Bank:

• A Persian rug covered the polished floor.

• There were several brightly coloured rugs scattered around.

printer

print·er [printer printers]   [ˈprɪntə(r)]    [ˈprɪntər]  noun

1. a machine for printing text on paper, especially one connected to a computer

• a colour/laser printer
 

2. a person or a company whose job is printing books, etc.

3. printer's(pl. printers) a place where books, etc. are printed

Example Bank:

• Can you check to see if the printer cable is still plugged into your computer?

• Connect the printer to your PC with a printer cable.

• The printer has run off 2 000 copies of the leaflet.

• The printer won't print for some reason.

• You can print to any networked printer in the building.

mirror

mir·ror [mirror mirrors mirrored mirroring] noun, verb   [ˈmɪrə(r)]    [ˈmɪrər]

noun

1. countable a piece of special flat glass that reflects images, so that you can see yourself when you look in it

• He looked at himself in the mirror.

• a rear-view mirror (= in a car, so that the driver can see what is behind)

• (BrE) a wing mirror (= on the side of a car)

• (NAmE) a side-view mirror

2. a ~ of sth singular something that shows what sth else is like

• The face is the mirror of the soul.

• Dickens' novels are a mirror of his times.

Word Origin:

Middle English: from Old French mirour, based on Latin mirare ‘look at’. Early senses also included ‘a crystal used in magic’ and ‘a person deserving imitation’.

Example Bank:

• Art can be seen as a mirror image of society.

• He was busy admiring himself in the mirror.

• He watched them through a two-way mirror.

• She stared at her face in the mirror.

• We hung a mirror over the fireplace.

• a large mirror hanging on the wall behind him

lamp

lamp [lamp lamps lamped lamping] noun, verb   [læmp]    [læmp]

noun

1. a device that uses electricity, oil or gas to produce light

• a table/desk/bicycle, etc. lamp

• to switch on/turn off a lamp

• a street lamp

see also  fog lamp, hurricane lamp, lava lamp, standard lamp

2. an electrical device that produces rays of heat and that is used for medical or scientific purposes

• an infra-red/ultraviolet lamp

see also  blowlamp, sunlamp 

Word Origin:

Middle English: via Old French from late Latin lampada, from Latin lampas, lampad- ‘torch’, from Greek.

Thesaurus:

lamp noun C

• She switched off the lamp.

light • • lantern • |BrE torch • |especially AmE flashlight •

switch on/off a lamp/light/torch/flashlight

light a lamp/lantern

a lamp/light/lantern/torch shines

carry a lamp/lantern/torch/flashlight

Example Bank:

• An oil lamp burned in the darkness.

• The study was lit only by a small lamp.

• He got into bed and switched off the bedside lamp.

• She could see the rain in the light of the street lamps.

• The specimen was viewed under an ultraviolet lamp.

• There were oil lamps hanging over the veranda.

verb (BrE, informal)

to hit sb very hard

• ~ sb The guy lamped me.

• ~ sb sth I'd have lamped her one!

Word Origin:

Middle English: via Old French from late Latin lampada, from Latin lampas, lampad- ‘torch’, from Greek.