English Vocabulary Review – Lecture Notes

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards drawn from the lecture notes, covering idioms, housing, everyday problems, education, work, business, the arts, theatre, and urban descriptions.

(to) have a heart of gold

to be very kind and generous

as hard as nails

showing no sympathy for others

as good as gold

helpful and well-behaved (usually of children)

a nasty piece of work

an unpleasant person

(one’s) heart’s in the right place

to be kind-hearted even if not always showing it

an awkward customer

a difficult person to deal with

a pain in the neck

an annoying or troublesome person

(to) get on everyone’s nerves

to irritate everybody

(to) have your head screwed on

to be sensible (informal)

a head for heights

an ability to be comfortable high up

a head like a sieve

a very bad memory

a good head for figures

skill at mathematics

(to have) your head in the clouds

to be unaware of reality

head and shoulders above

much better than others

(to) bury your head in the sand

to refuse to face a difficult situation

(to) keep your head

to stay calm in difficulty

odd-ball

a peculiar or strange person

over the top

very exaggerated in behaviour

round the bend

absolutely crazy / mad

middle-of-the-road

very normal; not radical

teacher’s pet

the teacher’s favourite pupil

top of the class

the best-performing student

know-all

a person who thinks they know everything

big-head

someone with a high opinion of themselves

lazy-bones

a very lazy person

bungalow

a house with only one storey

semi-detached house

a house joined to one other house

detached house

a house not joined to any other

terraced house

one of a row of houses joined together

self-contained flat

a flat not sharing facilities with others

studio flat

a small flat with one main living/sleeping room

cottage

a small house in the country or a village

villa

a large house with big gardens or a holiday house

utility room

room for washing machine, freezer, etc.

shed

small separate building for storing garden tools

attic / loft

space in the roof, often for storage

cellar

room below ground level with no windows

basement

underground room with windows for living/working

porch

covered area before an entrance door

drive

short private road to a house or garage

remote (control)

device to operate equipment from a distance

socket

wall fitting for an electrical plug

corkscrew

tool for pulling corks from bottles

grater

tool that shreds food into small pieces

ironing board

flat surface for ironing clothes

(a) leak

water escaping through a hole or crack

(to) smash

to break something into pieces

cracked

having a line where something has split but not broken

power cut

an interruption in the electricity supply

(to) break down

to stop working (machinery/vehicle)

(to) crash (computer)

for a computer to stop functioning suddenly

bruise

dark area on skin after being hit

graze

scrape that breaks the surface of the skin

(to) mislay

to put something somewhere and forget where

stain

permanent mark left by a substance

blocked (sink)

water will not drain away

dent

small hollow made by hitting something

undergraduate

student studying for a bachelor’s degree

bachelor’s degree

first university degree

module

one part of a university course

credits

units that count toward a degree

dissertation

long piece of writing for a degree

postgraduate

student studying for a master’s or PhD

master’s degree

first postgraduate degree

PhD

highest university degree (Doctor of Philosophy)

campus

area where university buildings are located

lecture theatre

large room where lectures are given

tutorial

small-group or one-to-one teaching session

halls of residence

student accommodation on campus

tuition fees

money paid for a course

student loan

money borrowed to pay for studies

scholarship

money given to a good student to pay for study

director

member of a company’s board

executive

senior manager who makes big decisions

skilled worker

worker trained for specific tasks

receptionist

person who greets visitors in an office

public relations officer

person who gives company information to media

union representative

person who looks after workers’ interests

shift work

working different set periods, e.g. nights then days

flexi-time

system with flexible working hours

on strike

refusing to work to protest

get the sack

to be dismissed from a job

made redundant

lose a job because no longer needed

workaholic

person who works excessively

business plan

detailed plan of how a business will operate

custom-built

specially made for a particular customer

launch (a product)

to start selling or introduce something new

roll out

to make a new product widely available

customer care

looking after customers’ needs

market research

finding out what people want or need

recession

period of economic decline

CEO (Chief Executive Officer)

head of a company or corporation

stiff competition

very strong rivalry from other companies

feedback

opinions about a product or service

work of art

object made by a skilled artist

arts and crafts

handmade decorative objects

sculpture

art of making figures from stone, wood, etc.

portrait

painting of a person

landscape

painting of a countryside scene

still life

painting of inanimate objects (e.g. fruit)