Essential English Vocabulary: Definitions and Usage Examples

Essential English Vocabulary List

• Confine: "To limit an activity." Example: "Please confine your use of the phone to business calls."
• Fail: "To not succeed in what you are trying to achieve." Example: "He failed in his attempt to break the record."
• Engage: "To employ someone." Example: "I have engaged a secretary to deal with all my paperwork."
• Deal: "An agreement, especially in business." Example: "She got a good deal on her new house."
• Catch: "To take hold of something." Example: "He caught hold of my arm."
• Remove: "To take something away." Example: "This detergent will remove even old stains."
• Partner: "A person or organization you are closely involved with in some way." Example: "He gave up his job as a police officer after his partner was killed."
• Matter: "A situation that is being dealt with or considered." Example: "Allen denied any knowledge of the matter."
• Throne: "The state of being a ruler." Example: "Queen Victoria was on the throne."
• Believe: "To think that something is true." Example: "She's arriving tomorrow, I believe."
• Since: "From a particular time in the past until a later time, or until now." Example: "I've long since forgotten any Latin I ever learned."
• Trade: "The activity of buying and selling." Example: "70 percent of the country's trade is with Europe."
• Whole: "Complete or not divided." Example: "I spent the whole day cleaning."
• Show: "To make it possible for something to be seen." Example: "On this map, urban areas are shown in grey."
• Achievement: "Something very good and difficult that you have succeeded in doing." Example: "An Olympic silver medal is a remarkable achievement for one so young."
• Somehow: "In a way or by some means that is not known." Example: "It won't be easy, but we'll get across the river somehow."
• Trouble: "Problems or difficulties." Example: "The form was terribly complicated and I had a lot of trouble with it."
• Issue: "A subject that people are thinking and talking about." Example: "As employers, we need to be seen to be addressing these issues sympathetically."
• Harm: "Physical or other injury or damage." Example: "Both deny conspiring to cause actual bodily harm."
• Hunt: "To chase and try to catch and kill an animal." Example: "Some animals hunt at night."
• Actual: "Existing in fact." Example: "We had estimated about 300 visitors, but the actual number was much higher."