Important Vocabulary to Improve your English-18

etiquette
Etiquette is a set of customs and rules for polite behaviour, especially among a particular class of people or in a particular profession.
= protocol

stark
Stark choices or statements are harsh and unpleasant.

If two things are in stark contrast to one another, they are very different from each other in a way that is very obvious.

Something that is stark is very plain in appearance.



sinusitis

If you have sinusitis, the layer of flesh inside your sinuses is swollen and painful, which can cause headaches and a blocked nose.


con
If someone cons you, they persuade you to do something or believe something by telling you things that are not true.
A con is a trick in which someone deceives you by telling you something that is not true.

A con is the same as a convict.


rev
When the engine of a vehicle revs, or when you rev it, the engine speed is increased as the accelerator is pressed.

Rev up means the same as rev.

2
If you talk about the revs of an engine, you are referring to its speed, which is measured in revolutions per minute.


mar
To mar something means to spoil or damage it.


damn
Damn, damn it, and dammit are used by some people to express anger or impatience.

Damn is used by some people to emphasize what they are saying.
Damn is also an adverb.
If you say that a person or a news report damns something such as a policy or action, you mean that they are very critical of it.
If you say that someone does not give a damn about something, you are emphasizing that they do not care about it at all. , RUDE)

Some people say as near as damn it or as near as dammit to emphasize that what they have said is almost completely accurate, but not quite.
loo
A loo is a toilet.


sesame
Sesame is a plant grown for its seeds and oil, which are used in cooking.


hue
A hue is a colour.
If people raise a hue and cry about something, they protest angrily about it.


pump
A pump is a machine or device that is used to force a liquid or gas to flow in a particular direction.

To pump a liquid or gas in a particular direction means to force it to flow in that direction using a pump.

A petrol or gas pump is a machine with a tube attached to it that you use to fill a car with petrol.

If someone has their stomach pumped, doctors remove the contents of their stomach, for example because they have swallowed poison or drugs.

If you pump money or other resources into something such as a project or an industry, you invest a lot of money or resources in it.

If you pump someone about something, you keep asking them questions in order to get information.
= grill
Pumps are canvas shoes with flat rubber soles which people wear for sports and leisure.

Pumps are women's shoes that do not cover the top part of the foot and are usually made of plain leather.

To prime the pump means to do something to encourage the success or growth of something, especially the economy.

flirt
If you flirt with someone, you behave as if you are sexually attracted to them, in a playful or not very serious way.


Someone who is a flirt likes to flirt a lot.

If you flirt with the idea of something, you consider it but do not do anything about it.



sidle
If you sidle somewhere, you walk there in a quiet or cautious way, as if you do not want anyone to notice you.



unscathed
If you are unscathed after a dangerous experience, you have not been injured or harmed by it.

prophesy
If you prophesy that something will happen, you say that you strongly believe that it will happen.

subdued
Someone who is subdued is very quiet, often because they are sad or worried about something.

Subdued sounds are not very loud.

Subdued lights or colours are not very bright.


cross VERB AND NOUN USES


Please look at category 16 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
If you cross something such as a room, a road, or an area of land or water, you move or travel to the other side of it. If you cross to a place, you move or travel over a room, road, or area of land or water in order to reach that place.

A road, railway, or bridge that crosses an area of land or water passes over it.

Lines or roads that cross meet and go across each other.

If someone or something crosses a limit or boundary, for example the limit of acceptable behaviour, they go beyond it.

If an expression crosses someone's face, it appears briefly on their face.
A cross is a shape that consists of a vertical line or piece with a shorter horizontal line or piece across it. It is the most important Christian symbol.

If Christians cross themselves, they make the sign of a cross by moving their hand across the top half of their body.

If you describe something as a cross that someone has to bear, you mean it is a problem or disadvantage which they have to deal with or bear.
A cross is a written mark in the shape of an X. You can use it, for example, to indicate that an answer to a question is wrong, to mark the position of something on a map, or to indicate your vote on a ballot paper.

If a cheque is crossed, two parallel lines are drawn across it or printed on it to indicate that it must be paid into a bank account and cannot be cashed.

If you cross your arms, legs, or fingers, you put one of them on top of the other.

If you cross someone who is likely to get angry, you oppose them or refuse to do what they want.

Something that is a cross between two things is neither one thing nor the other, but a mixture of both.

In some team sports such as football and hockey, a cross is the passing of the ball from the side of the field to a player in the centre, usually in front of the goal.

A cross street is a road that crosses another more important road.


to cross your fingers: see finger
cross my heart: see heart
to cross your mind: see mind
people's paths cross: see path
to cross the Rubicon: see Rubicon
to cross swords: see sword
see also crossing

dump
If you dump something somewhere, you put it or unload it there quickly and carelessly.

If something is dumped somewhere, it is put or left there because it is no longer wanted or needed.


A dump is a place where rubbish is left, for example on open ground outside a town.
If you say that a place is a dump, you think it is ugly and unpleasant to live in or visit.

To dump something such as an idea, policy, or practice means to stop supporting or using it.
= ditch
If a firm or company dumps goods, it sells large quantities of them at prices far below their real value, usually in another country, in order to gain a bigger market share or to keep prices high in the home market.

If you dump someone, you end your relationship with them.
= ditch
To dump computer data or memory means to copy it from one storage system onto another, such as from disk to magnetic tape.

A dump is a list of the data that is stored in a computer's memory at a particular time. Dumps are often used by computer programmers to find out what is causing a problem with a program.