Word of the Day – January

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If you follow us on Facebook, you will know we have a number of posts called Word of the Day. This is a fun look at a single word to see if people know what it means, and then we look at the definition and how it might be used. These are all common words in English and are all useful to know if you are learning English.

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Resolution

This word has two or more meanings. One very common one is about how clear and image is or the size of a digital image. It is important because we use technology so much. So a high resolution image would be a very high quality image.

The second meaning is about settling an argument. When people are fighting they might be looking for a resolution or looking to resolve a disagreement. A resolution is a very good thing if people are fighting as it means they have agreed and can stop fighting.

Pouring

It is winter in the UK and as everyone knows, we do like to talk about the weather. So in January we had 3 weather words. The first was “pouring”. This word actually has different uses but essentially one meaning. You can pour water from a jug, or pour a glass of wine. So it describes moving liquid or even solids like sand from one place to another. However, it is very common in the UK to say “it’s pouring outside” or “it’s pouring with rain”. This means it is raining very heavily and is a useful term to know.

Blizzard

The second weather word is blizzard. This is related to snow, you can only have a blizzard in snow. This is when it snows so much that you cannot see very well, driving is dangerous and even walking can be hard. In fact, people often use the word when it is snowing heavily and actually not a blizzard.

Gust

Our last weather word is gust. A gust is a single blast of wind that is very strong that then goes away. During storms, there are often gusts of faster wind and times when it is slower. A gust can be very strong and even cause damage in some storms. Some people call a windy day “gusty”; “it’s very gusty outside”.

Prompt

This is a very important word. It is a word used to describe being somewhere at the time you said you would. If a job interview is at 09:00 then a prompt arrival would be 08.55. Prompt means on time or early. In business, it is very important, if someone asks you to be at a meeting promptly then you must not be late.

Colleague

Another work term this word means a person you work with. A colleague can be anyone in the company you work for; they may be in the office with you or in another office in another country. If they work for the same company they are a colleague. It is a nice word and is often used when two companies work together as a way of saying everyone is working together.

Assume

This is a very useful and important word that can have 2 meanings. To assume something is to think you know what is going to happen before it does. It can be rude if you do not have the information to make that choice. It can also be used by managers and bosses to say “I assume you will be at work on time” by this they mean they want you to be at work on time and if you are not it will not be good.

However, you can also “assume” responsibility for something or someone. This is where you can take control or take charge of looking after a project or job.