chaos Use the word “chaos” to describe a situation that is out of control. There is a tragedy and people don’t know what to do. There’s no organization, and panic sets in because it feels like conditions can get worse. There was chaos in the streets following the bomb blast. It was chaos after the […]
flunk To flunk is to fail or not perform as expected. This is a term used for performance in school among students, but it can also be applied to situations outside of education. I flunked my test. Gabriel is afraid he’s going to flunk his final exam. Diane flunked out of med school. If you don’t want
flip The word “flip” means to turn over. When you are cooking, you often have to flip things so that they cook evenly: simple past past participle flip flipped flipped Tony flipped the hamburgers on the grill. Angela used a spatula to flip the pancakes. It’s hard to flip fillets of fish without breaking them. The
fling To fling something is to throw it. Don’t fling that at me! Horatio knows how to fling a frisbee. A student flung a book out the window. (The past tense of “fling” if “flung.” ) He got in trouble for flinging stuff out the window. Someone in the car ahead of us flung some garbage onto the
flake A flake is a light and flattened thing that is produced naturally or artificially. Flakes come in different forms. A cornflake is made from corn and is usually eaten for breakfast. corn flake I had a bowl of cornflakes for breakfast this morning. a bowl of corn flakes When snow falls during cold weather, the snow
flab Flab is fat. It’s the extra weight that a person carries around on his or her body. Flab is something that people try to lose if they are worried about being heavy. He’s trying to lose some flab by exercising. Running helps to reduce flab. The doctor said that Jennifer needed to lose some of the flab
fit Use the verb “fit” when describing how something conforms to the shape or the size of another thing: That blouse doesn’t fit her very well. Those pants fit you. How do your shoes fit? Does this jacket look like it fits? I don’t think this fits. These two pipes don’t fit together. It’s hard
filter A filter is a type of screen that allows liquids or air to pass through while trapping sold, unwanted substances: An air filter removes dirt in the air as it goes through a machine. A gas filter in your car traps impurities found in gasoline. A coffee filter is used in a coffee maker. The filter
bask To bask is to enjoy the warmth of the sun or some other source of heat. People who sit on a beach in the summer bask in the sun. A person who basks in the sun for too long might get a sunburn. My cats bask in the sun when it’s sunny outside. Basking before a
base The word “base” has a few different meanings, but basically it refers to a foundation of some sort upon which things are made: On what do you base your opinions? He bases his opinion on something that he read in the newspaper. My methods for teaching English are based on twenty-five years of experience
