Word of the Day

You’re watching Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for December 25. National Pumpkin Pie Day Today’s word is take, spelled t-a-k-e. take /teɪk/ verb take to something phrasal verb to begin doing (something) as a habit or regular practice —usually used with a following present participle take to drinking/smoking He's recently taken to staying up late on weekends. Dee’s taken to getting up at 6 and goi...

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for November 21. Peanut Butter Fudge Day Today’s word is frame, spelled f-r-a-m-e. frame /freɪm/ noun frame of mind noun phrase Merriam-Webster: mental attitude or outlook : MOOD Longman: the way someone is thinking and feeling at a particular time She returned from lunch in a happier frame of mind. You have to be in the right frame of mind to pl...

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for December 21. Forefathers’ Day Today’s word is do, spelled d-o. do /duː/ verb ˌdo-or-ˈdie adjective [only before noun] very determined Her do-or-die attitude is inspiring. said when you are in a situation in which you must take a big risk in order to avoid failure On Tuesday, it's do-or-die in the final game. With only 10 seconds left, this is...

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for November 18. Mickey Mouse Day Today’s word is bask, spelled b-a-s-k. bask /bɑːsk $ bæsk/ verb [intransitive] to enjoy sitting or lying in the heat of the sun or a fire basking in the warmth of the sun We sat basking in the sun. Tourists were basking on the beaches. to enjoy the approval or attention that you are getting from other people He s...

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for November 17. Baklava Day Today’s word is word, spelled word. word / wɜːd $ wɜːrd/ noun put words into somebody’s mouth spoken to tell someone what you think they are trying to say, in a way that annoys them Will you stop putting words into my mouth – I never said I disliked the job. put your feelings/thoughts etc into words to express what yo...

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for November 16. Fast Food Day Today’s word is head, spelled h-e-a-d. head /hed/ noun go to somebody’s head informal if success goes to someone’s head, it makes them feel more important than they really are She never let fame go to her head. Dave really let his promotion go to his head. as soon as your head hits the pillow if you fall asleep as s...

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for November 15. Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day Today’s word is drum, spelled d-r-u-m. drum /drʌm/ noun beat/bang the drum for idiom to say or write things that strongly support (someone or something) The company is banging the drum for their new software. They joined together to beat the drum for their candidate. banging the drum for human righ...

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for November 14. Tongue Twister Day Today’s word is signature, spelled s-i-g-n-a-t-u-r-e. signature /ˈsɪɡnətʃə $ -ər/ noun [countable] your name written in the way you usually write it, for example at the end of a letter, or on a cheque etc, to show that you have written it Her signature is totally illegible (=cannot be read). Someone’s forged my...

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for November 13. World Kindness Day Today’s word is iron, spelled i-r-o-n. iron /ˈaɪən $ ˈaɪərn/ noun pump iron informal to do exercises by lifting heavy weights Before I met her I used to pump iron. They pump iron for hours every morning. rule with an iron fist/hand idiom chiefly US : to rule a country, area, group, etc., in a very strict and of...

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for November 11. Singles Day Today’s word is wolf, spelled w-o-l-f. wolf /wʊlf/ ●●○ noun (plural wolves /wʊlvz/) [countable] a wolf in sheep’s clothing someone who seems to be friendly or harmless but is in fact dangerous, dishonest etc My grandfather was a wolf in sheep’s clothing – he looked like a sweet old man, but he was really mean. Jesus t...

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for November 10. Sesame Street Day Today’s word is stand, spelled s-t-a-n-d. stand /stænd/ verb [transitive] [transitive usually in questions and negatives] to be able to accept or deal well with a difficult situation SYN tolerate if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen used to tell someone that they should leave a job or situation if...

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for November 9. World Freedom Day Today’s word is friend, spelled f-r-i-e-n-d. friend /frend/ verb [transitive] to add someone to your list of friends on a social networking site I never friend someone I haven’t met in real life. friend noun [countable] be friends (with somebody) to be someone’s friend I’ve been friends with the Murkets for twent...

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for November 8. Cappuccino Day Today’s word is shy, spelled s-h-y. shy /ʃaɪ/ shy (away) from phrasal verb to avoid doing or dealing with something because you are not confident enough or you are worried or nervous about it They criticized the leadership, but shied away from a direct challenge. She shies away from making any predictions. I've neve...

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for November 6. Nachos Day Today’s word is sleep, spelled s-l-e-e-p. sleep /sliːp/ not sleep a wink idiom to not sleep at all I didn't sleep a wink last night. in one's sleep idiom used to say that someone is able to do something very easily, especially because they have done it many times before She could bake those cookies in her sleep. I can d...

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for November 4. Men Make Dinner Day Today’s word is brief, spelled b-r-i-e-f. brief /briːf/ ●○○ verb [transitive] to give someone all the information about a situation that they will need The president is being briefed by his advisors. The captain briefed the crew on the new safety procedures. Before the announcement, Burns reached out to former...

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for November 3. Sandwich Day Today’s word is rock, spelled r-o-c-k. rock /rɑːk/ ●●● noun on the rocks informal a relationship or business that is on the rocks is having a lot of problems and is likely to fail soon SYN in trouble I think their marriage is on the rocks. His third marriage was on the rocks. : on ice cubes bourbon on the rocks betwee...

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for November 2. World Vegan Day Today’s word is bite, spelled b-i-t-e. bite /baɪt/ verb bite the bullet to force yourself to do something unpleasant or difficult, or to be brave in a difficult situation I hate going to the dentist, but I'll just have to bite the bullet. I decided I had to bite the bullet and take a couple of math classes even tho...

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for November 1. World Vegan Day Today’s word is rule, spelled r-u-l-e. rule /ruːl/ noun rule of thumb noun phrase a practical and approximate way of doing or measuring something As a general rule of thumb, children this age should not spend more than one hour on homework. Journalists have a rule of thumb: the more a person knows, the more that pe...

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for October 31. Magic Day Today’s word is back, spelled b-a-c-k. back /bæk/ noun [countable] at/in the back of one's mind idiom in the part of one's mind where thoughts and memories are kept but that are not usually thought about or not perfectly remembered Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew I'd met him before. It's been at the back of my mi...

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for October 30. Hug A Sheep Day Today’s word is wind, spelled w-i-n-d. wind /wɪnd/ noun get wind of phrase informal to hear or find out about something secret or private When I got wind of the open position, I did not waste one minute before applying. You’d better hope the press doesn’t get wind of this. take the wind out of someone's sails idiom...

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for October 28. Animation Day Today’s word is picture, spelled p-i-c-t-u-r-e. picture /ˈpɪktʃə $ -ər/ noun [countable usually singular] a description or idea of what something is like The book gives you a good picture of what life was like in Japan in the early 19th century. The article paints a rather bleak picture of the future of our planet. T...

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for October 27. Navy Day Today’s word is button, spelled b-u-t-t-o-n. button /ˈbʌtn/ noun [countable] push the right buttons idiom : to do the things that are needed to produce a desired effect or result The coach knows how to push all the right buttons to get his players ready for the game. She seemed to push all the right buttons. He pushed all...

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for October 26. Mule Day Today’s word is society, spelled s-o-c-i-e-t-y. society /səˈsaɪəti/ noun [uncountable] formal when you are together with other people Holidays are a time to enjoy the society of your family. people in general thought of as living together in organized communities with shared laws, traditions, and values Poverty hurts soci...

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for October 25. International Artist Day Today’s word is position, spelled p-o-s-i-t-i-o-n. position /pəˈzɪʃən/ noun [countable usually singular] the situation that someone is in, especially when this affects what they can and cannot do I’m not sure what I would do if I were in your position. You’re putting me in rather a difficult position. posi...

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for October 24. Bologna Day Today’s word is sour, spelled s-o-u-r. sour /saʊə $ saʊr/ adjective informal if a relationship or plan turns or goes sour, it becomes less enjoyable, pleasant, or satisfactory As time went by, their marriage turned sour. The meeting ended on a sour note, with neither side able to reach agreement. sour2 verb [intransiti...