vocabulary
vocabulary
noun
/vəˈkæbjələri/
(plural vocabularies)
1 ​countable, uncountable all the words that a person knows or uses
to have a wide/limited vocabulary
your active vocabulary (= the words that you use)
your passive vocabulary (= the words that you understand but don’t use)
Reading will increase your vocabulary.
Learners of languages acquire vocabulary through practice.
This book has been designed to help you expand your vocabulary.
Try to develop a wide vocabulary.
Synonyms language
see also defining vocabulary
Topics Language A1
Collocations
adjective
big
extensive
large
verb + vocabulary
have
acquire
learn
vocabulary + noun
item
word
list
preposition
vocabulary for
vocabulary of
phrases
not in somebody’s vocabulary
2 ​countable all the words in a particular language
When did the word ‘bungalow’ first enter the vocabulary?
The word ‘think tank’ entered the vocabulary in the 1960s.
English has a rich vocabulary and literature.
Topics Language A1
3 ​uncountable, countable the words that people use when they are talking about a particular subject
The word has become part of advertising vocabulary.
the vocabulary of science
the essential vocabulary for tourism
Specialized vocabulary is used in all the major disciplines.
Topics Language B1
4 ​(also informal vocab /ˈvəʊkæb/ /ˈvəʊkæb/ ) countable a list of words with their meanings, especially in a book for learning a foreign language
Write it down in your vocab book.
Topics Language B1
Idioms
not in somebody's vocabulary
Word Origin
mid 16th cent. (denoting a list of words with definitions or translations): from medieval Latin vocabularius, from Latin vocabulum, from vocare ‘call’.