vocabulary
[noun]
Synonyms: words, dictionary, glossary, language, lexicon

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Related Idioms: stock of words
Related Words: phraseology

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

vo‧cab‧u‧la‧ry /vəˈkæbjələri, vəˈkæbjʊləri, vəʊ- $ -leri, voʊ-/ noun (plural vocabularies)
[Date: 1500-1600; Language: French; Origin: vocabulaire, from Medieval Latin vocabularium, from Latin vocabulum 'word, name', from vocare; ⇒ vocation]

1. [uncountable and countable] all the words that someone knows or uses:
Teachers were impressed by his vocabulary.

2. [countable] all the words in a particular language:
English has the largest vocabulary of any language.

3. [uncountable and countable] the words that are typically used when talking about a particular subject:
Most technical jobs use a specialized vocabulary.
vocabulary of
the vocabulary of politics

4. [uncountable and countable] the range of possible features, effects, actions etc, especially in a type of music or art
vocabulary of
Charlie Parker expanded the vocabulary of jazz.

5. (the word) failure/guilt/compromise etc is not in sb’s vocabulary used to say that someone never thinks of accepting failure etc

6. [countable] old-fashioned a list of words with explanations of their meanings, especially in a book for learning a foreign language

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

vocabulary
noun
ADJ. extensive, large, rich, wide English has a rich vocabulary and literature. Try to develop a wide vocabulary.
limited, narrow, poor, restricted, small | active, passive | basic, essential, key | formal | business, scientific, specialized, technical
VERB + VOCABULARY have | acquire, learn Learners of languages acquire vocabulary through practice.
build, develop, enlarge, enrich, expand, extend, increase, widen This book has been designed to help you expand your vocabulary.
enter The word ‘think tank’ entered the vocabulary (= became part of the language) in the 1960s.
use Specialized vocabulary is used in all the major disciplines.
VOCABULARY + NOUN item
PREP. ~ for/of the essential vocabulary for tourism
PHRASES not in sb's vocabulary The word ‘failure’is not in his vocabulary (= for him, failure does not exist).

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

vocabulary

large/wide/extensive
She has a very wide vocabulary.
limited/small
He had just started learning English and his vocabulary was fairly limited.
basic/essential vocabulary
The book teaches you the basic vocabulary that you need to know when you're on holiday.
technical/specialized vocabulary
The instructions were full of technical vocabulary.
somebody's active vocabulary (=the words they can use)
Children of this age have an active vocabulary of about 1,000 words.
somebody's passive vocabulary (=the words they can understand but do not use)
Your passive vocabulary is much larger than your active vocabulary.
have a vocabulary
By eighteen months of age, the girl had a vocabulary of around 300 words.
expand/improve your vocabulary (also enrich your vocabulary formal)
Reading helps to expand your vocabulary.
learn vocabulary
What's the best way of learning new vocabulary?
a vocabulary test/exercise
The teacher gave us a vocabulary test.
a vocabulary item formal (=a word, especially in a coursebook or a language class)
The difficult vocabulary items are explained at the bottom of the page.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

vocabulary
noun
BAD: The article contained a lot of American English vocabularies.
GOOD: The article contained a lot of American English words.

Usage Note:
vocabulary = all the words in a language or all the words (in a language) that someone knows: 'English has a vast vocabulary.' 'By the end of the course students should have an active vocabulary of around 2000 words.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲