Essential Vocabulary: Definitions for Modern Concepts

Outlet: A store selling goods of a company, usually at a lower price.

Outcome: The result or effect of an action, situation, or event.

Outlook: The likely future situation.

Outing: A short journey made by a group of people.

Onset: A start; a beginning.

Outrage: A strong feeling of shock.

Outbreak: A sudden appearance of a disease.

Outlay: An amount spent at the beginning of a business.

Idioms and Expressions

Break the mould: To be new and different.

Blind someone with science: To confuse somebody by using difficult or technical words.

Move with the times: To change and become more modern because attitudes and fashion are changing.

Be someone's guinea pig: To be the subject of an experiment.

Turn the clock back: To want to return to a past situation because the present is unpleasant.

Come down to earth: To have to face reality after a period of great excitement.

Reinvent the wheel: To try to do something that has already been done successfully.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist: When you think something is not difficult to do or to understand.

Stand the test of time: When something is strong and effective enough to last for a very long time.

Modern Challenges and Concepts

Stressful lifestyle: Experiences that produce strain.

Traffic congestion: A lot of vehicles in the same road.

Urban sprawl: The spreading of urban developments.

Nuclear power: Electric power generated by a nuclear reactor.

Fast food: Food that is easy and quick to cook.

Biological weapons: Using living matter to cause damage.

Space junk: Material left in space by human activity.

GMO foods: Genetically modified food.

Consumer society: A society where people often buy new goods.

Technology Terms

Wired: Connected with wires.

Instant: Automatically.

Contactless: Without cable connection.

Printer: A machine to create copies of information from your computer.

Router: A piece of equipment which allows access to the network.

Monitor: The screen of a computer.

Medical Terms

Keyhole surgery: Minor insertion made so the doctor can make the surgery through it.

Telemedicine: Consult doctor online.

Antibiotics: Medicine used for infections.

Scanner: A machine used to examine.

Financial and Industrial Terms

Smart cards: Cards to perform financial transactions.

Barcodes: Represent the code of a product.

Assembly lines: When there are a lot of workers and each one deals with only one task.

Conveyor belt: A continuously moving strip of rubber.

Processing equipment: Equipment used in a process.

Space Exploration

Satellites: An object sent to space to collect information.

Space capsules: A vehicle sent to space.

Landing craft: The material that enables something to land.

Fuels

Diesel: A type of fuel.