Beat means 1.) to strike with violent blows 2.) to pound on something rhythmically, the rhythm of a musical piece 3.) to pulsate 3.) in cooking, to whisk vigorously 4.) to overcome an opponent in a race or contest 5.) to baffle 6.) to feel extremely tired 7.) an area or area of expertise frequented by someone 8.) the flapping of wings. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, beat is one of the top one thousand most used words in …
Reek means smells strongly unpleasant, a terrible stench. Reek may be used as a noun or verb, related words are reeks, reeked, reeking, reeky, reekingly. Reek may also be used in a figurative sense, to describe something unpleasant. Reek is derived from the Old English word rēocan which means to emit smoke or vapor. Wreak means to inflict, to cause, usually to describe the inflicting of vengeance or some type of damage. Wreak is most commonly used in the phrases …
Some short words can still be challenging to spell because they belong to a group of words called homophones. Homophones are two or more words with the same sounds but different spellings and meanings, and they always confuse me. One good example includes bass and base. So, I’m breaking down the difference between bass and base. I’ve also included some examples of how to use them in sentences. Base Meaning Explained Base comes from the Latin word basis and can …
Throes is a violent condition, a painful struggle. Throes is a plural noun, it is almost never expressed as a singular, throe. Throes is possibly derived from a thirteenth-century English word, throwe, which means pang of childbirth, agony of death, which may, in turn, have come from the Old English word þrawan which means twist, turn, writhe or the Old English word thrēa meaning calamity. Throws is the present tense of the word throw, which means to toss something, to …
A serf is a person who is bound in feudal servitude. A serf does agricultural work on a lord’s estate. If the land is sold, the serf’s bondage is transferred to the new landowner. While not a slave, a serf is not free. Serfs existed during the Middle Ages, this feudal system is no longer in place. Today, the word serf is more often used to describe someone who is oppressed. Serf comes from the Old French word serf which …
Cereal is an edible grain, the grasses that produce an edible grain or the food product composed of an edible grain. Some cereals are wheat, oats, corn, rye, millet, etc. Cereal may be used as a noun or an adjective, the plural is cereals. Cereal comes from the Latin word cerealis which means grain, derived from the name of the Roman goddess of agriculture, Ceres. Serial means arranged in successive parts in successive intervals, or a behavior that occurs repeatedly …
Tinsel is shiny strips of foil, separate or attached on a string or wire used for decoration, especially at Christmas time. Tinsel is also used to express the idea of gaudiness. Tinsel may be used as a noun, adjective or transitive verb, which is a verb that takes an object. Related words are tinsels, tinseled, tinseling as used in the United States, tinsels, tinselled, tinselling as used in British English, and tinselly, used universally. Tinsel is a mid-fifteenth-century word meaning …
A relatively new word in the English language, bae is slang for baby or babe. Bae is a a term for one’s significant other or a term of address for one’s significant other. Bae is first seen in African-American rap songs in the early 2000s, though it was 2012 or so when the term bae truly leaped into the public consciousness with the Bae caught me slippin’ meme. The word bae seems to have been formed simply by dropping the …
Freeze means the process by which a liquid turns into a solid, due to a drop in temperature. Freeze may also mean to become blocked with ice, to lose sensation due to a drop in temperature, to become hypothermic due to a drop in temperature. Freeze may also be used as a verb to mean fixed in place. Related forms are freezes, froze, frozen, freezing, freezer, freezable. The word freeze comes from the Old English word freosan, meaning turn to …
Yes, I know, English is a confusing language to learn, mostly because words that sound the same can have vastly different meanings. Take the words “ware,” “wear,” and “where,” for example. All my life, I’ve seen these three get mixed up and misused. So, if you’re having trouble remembering, I’ll explore the differences between these three words and how you should use them correctly. Ware vs. Wear vs. Where They’re homophones, so yes, they sound similar. “Ware,” “wear,” and “where” …