Tag: Noun

If you’re flying a plane, and your engine stalls out, and you fall helplessly, with the tail of your plane spinning around, that’s a tailspin: More generally, a tailspin is a quick, helpless fall into a bad situation. Pronunciation: TALE Read More …

Also spelled “skulduggery,” this word means exactly what it sounds like: deceit, trickery, or dirty dealings. Pronunciation: SKULL DUG uh ree Part of speech: Noun, the uncountable kind: “their skullduggery,” “such skullduggery,” “a lot of skullduggery.” Other forms: None are Read More …

[singular] informal something that is unpleasant or disappointing That was a real bummer of a movie. You can’t go? What a bummer!

[count] a juicy fruit (such as an orange, grapefruit, or lemon) that has a thick skin and that comes from a tree or shrub that grows in warm areas — often used before another noun citrus trees/fruits/farmers — citrusy /ˈsɪtrəsi/ Read More …

This word has Latin roots that literally mean “a false or incorrect name.” A misnomer is an inaccurate name. In other words, a misnomer is something’s name, label, or title that sends the wrong message about it. Pronunciation: miss NO Read More …

1 [noncount] : the act of giving money, food, or other kinds of help to people who are poor, sick, etc. The holidays are a time for charity and good will. also : something (such as money or food) that Read More …

a device that is used for weighing people or things [count] (US) a bathroom scale [plural] (British) He stepped onto the bathroom scales.

[noncount] informal SLEEP You’d better get some shut-eye.

[noncount] paper that is partly used or is of poor quality but that you can use for unimportant things Please take out a piece of scrap paper and practice the math problems on the board. — called also (British) rough Read More …

[count] a very large usually roofless building that has a large open area surrounded by many rows of seats and that is used for sports events, concerts, etc.