Heartland English School – Word of the Day

Theme: THE ACADEMIC WORD LIST – P

*The Academic Word List is a list of 570 words which most frequently appear in academic texts*

https://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/resources/academicwordlist

Word: policy (n)

Pronunciation: /pɑləsi/

Meaning: a rule or ideas that guide our actions; a document that shows the agreement you have with an insurance company

Examples:

• Heartland has an English-only policy. This means everyone must use English to communicate.
• On my insurance policy, it says that I am covered for $1,000,000 in legal liability.

Theme: drinking culture

Word: hangover (n.)

Meaning: the feeling of illness after drinking too much alcohol, usually nausea or a headache

Example: Billy doesn’t remember all the fun he had at the party, but he’ll never forget the hangover he had the next day.

Other form: hungover (adj.)

Theme: drinking culture

Word: wasted (adj.)

Meaning: too drunk

Example: By the end of the night, Billy was so wasted that he was falling all over the place.

Synonyms: trashed, sloshed

Theme: drinking culture

Word: to chug (slang v.)

Meaning: to drink a large amount of alcohol in one action, without breathing

Example: Billy chugged a beer to impress his friends.

Other form: chugalug (v.)

Theme: drinking culture

Word: booze (n., v.)

Meaning: (informal) alcohol; to drink alcohol

Example: Billy told his mom he hadn’t been drinking, but she could smell the booze on his breath.

Other forms: boozy (adj.), boozehound (n.)

Theme: Snap!

Word: snap a picture (verb collocation)

Meaning: Take a photograph (the “snap” refers to the clicking sound a camera makes)

Examples:

1. Can you snap a picture of me beside the church?

2. I must’ve snapped thousands of pictures on my holiday to Cambodia.

Theme: Snap!

Word: snap out of it (phrasal verb)

Meaning: (informal) Come back to reality suddenly (especially used for stopping feeling negative or unhappy things)

Examples:

1. Ted is still really depressed about not getting the promotion. I hope he snaps out of it soon! I miss the old Ted.

2. Teacher: “Hello? Susan? Are you paying attention? Snap out of it!“

Susan: “Oh sorry. I was daydreaming there…”

Theme: Snap!

Word: snap up (phrasal verb)

Meaning: Take something quickly and/or eagerly

Examples:

1. Wow, the kids sure snapped up all those cookies.

2. The new Iphone 14 is out! You’d better go quickly before they are all snapped up.

Theme: Snap!

Word: snap at someone (phrasal verb)

Literal meaning: When an animal suddenly makes a biting motion at something/someone (without necessarily actually biting them!)

Figurative meaning: To suddenly speak angrily or sharply at someone.

Examples:
1. Watch out for snapping turtles. They’ll snap at you if you get close… and you don’t want them to bite you!

2. When my husband is tired or hungry, he sometimes snaps at people for no reason!

Theme: Snap!

Word: snap (verb/noun)

Literal meaning: Break (or cause to break) suddenly, completely

Literal meaning 2: Make a sharp sound, especially while moving into a particular position

Figurative meaning: Suddenly lose one’s self control (usually used for anger)

Examples:
1. The hockey player tried to shoot, but his stick snapped!

2. The binder rings snapped open and Harry put some new papers inside.

3. Tired of being teased, finally Jerry snapped and started yelling at the others.