Word of the Day

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for June 5.

Hot Air Balloon Day

Today’s word is people, spelled p-e-o-p-l-e.

people /ˈpiːpəl/ verb [transitive] formal

if a country or area is peopled by people of a particular type, they live there SYN inhabit

Honolulu is peopled by native Hawaiians, Japanese, Chinese, Filipinos, white Americans, and others.

The region has traditionally been peopled by Armenians.

a science-fiction novel about a mission to people Mars

The upper part of the valley is well peopled, and many of the hills are cultivated high up.

— Scientific American, 20 Apr. 2020

Most of the floors had at least a few offices with the lights on, at least some of them peopled with executives trying to figure out what to do now.

— Greg Jefferson, ExpressNews.com, 20 Mar. 2020

Both writers invented a place and, in novel after novel, peopled it with the same characters.

— Edmund White, Harper's magazine, 6 Jan. 2020

With your word of the day, I’m Mohammad Golpayegani.

We love feedback. If you want to email us, our address is [email protected], or you can find me directly on Twitter and message me there. My handle is @MoeGolpayegani.

Thanks for listening, stay safe, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow with a new word.

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for June 3.

World Bicycle Day

Today’s word is shot, spelled s-h-o-t.

shot /ʃɒt $ ʃɑːt/ noun

PHOTOGRAPH [countable] a photograph SYN picture

I managed to get some good shots of the carnival.

I got/took some really good shots of the harbour at sunset.

I got a wonderful shot of the kids on the boat.

give something your best shot

to make as much effort as you can to achieve something difficult

I promise I’ll give it my best shot.

I'm not promising I'll succeed, but I'll give it my best shot.

an injection of a drug (=when it is put into the body with a needle) SYN jab British English

It's important to get regular flu shots.

The doctor gave him a shot of morphine.

National Institutes of Health director Anthony Fauci said Wednesday at an appropriations hearing that people who have been vaccinated will probably need to get a booster shot to maintain their immunity, but when that shot may be is unclear.

— Elinor Aspegren, USA TODAY, 27 May 2021

With your word of the day, I’m Mohammad Golpayegani.

You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for June 2.

Leave The Office Earlier Day

Today’s word is engineer, spelled e-n-g-i-n-e-e-r.

engineer / ˌendʒəˈnɪə $ -ˈnɪr/ verb [transitive]

to arrange cleverly and often secretly for something to happen, especially something that is to your advantage

powerful enemies who engineered his downfall

I'm trying to engineer a meeting between them.

Before they could engineer an escape, they had to be sure that none of the guards were suspicious.

If the ninth circle of corporate hell houses the traitors who engineer corporate malfeasance, then corporate paradise surely includes those who find the courage to speak up when something feels wrong.

— Chris Lowney, Forbes, "Treachery, Trust, And Courage: How To Avoid Organizational Hell," 20 Apr. 2021

technical to design and plan the building of roads, bridges, machines, etc

The car is engineered to drive smoothly at high speeds.

The bridge is engineered to withstand an earthquake.

With your word of the day, I’m Mohammad Golpayegani.

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You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for June 1.

Go Barefoot Day

Today’s word is pose, spelled p-o-s-e.

pose /pəʊz $ poʊz/ verb

[intransitive] to sit or stand in a particular position in order to be photographed or painted, or to make someone do this

We posed for photographs.

We all posed for our photographs next to the Statue of Liberty.

to cause something, especially a problem or difficulty

Nuclear weapons pose a threat to everyone.

Drunken drivers pose a serious threat to other road users.

The result of the vote poses a serious challenge to the government's credibility.

Those drought conditions, coupled with the gusty winds the area is expected to see in the coming days, will likely pose some of the biggest challenges in containing the fire.

— Christina Maxouris, CNN, "Here's what we know about the wildfire burning in Los Angeles County and evacuations," 17 May 2021

With your word of the day, I’m Mohammad Golpayegani.

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You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for May 31.

No Tobacco Day

Today’s word is chicken, spelled c-h-i-c-k-e-n.

chicken /ˈtʃɪkɪn/ verb

chicken out phrasal verb informal

to decide at the last moment not to do something you said you would do, because you are afraid

He was going to ask her on a date, but he chickened out at the last minute.

We were going to go bungee jumping, but Sandra chickened out at the last minute.

I had never ridden on a motor-cycle before. But it was too late to chicken out.

I chickened out when I saw how deep the water was.

I can't believe you made me sign up for skydiving and then chickened out of it yourself!

With your word of the day, I’m Mohammad Golpayegani.

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You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for May 30.

Water a Flower Day

Today’s word is snap, spelled s-n-a-p.

snap /snæp/ ●●● verb (snapped, snapping)

snap your fingers

to make a noise by pushing your second finger hard against your thumb and then releasing it suddenly so that it hits the base of your thumb

He was snapping his fingers in time with the music.

People snapped to the beat.

The nurse snapped her fingers, and they sprang into motion.

[intransitive, transitive] informal to take a photograph

Dave snapped a picture of me and Sonia.

Mel snapped a picture with his pocket camera.

Washington is full of tourists snapping pictures of each other.

He was arrested for snapping photos of a military parade.

She's very pleased with her new camera and was snapping away the whole time we were abroad.

With your word of the day, I’m Mohammad Golpayegani.

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You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for May 29.

Mount Everest Day

Today’s word is dog, spelled d-o-g.

dog /dɒɡ $ dɒːɡ/ ●○○ verb (dogged, dogging) [transitive]

if a problem or bad luck dogs you, it causes trouble for a long time

: to worry as if by pursuit with dogs : PLAGUE

He has been dogged by injury all season.

Persistent colds, coughs and a temperature have dogged her for the last year.

The scandal seems likely to dog him for months to come.

Perhaps that is why, early on, Barbara became known as a bully, a characteristic that would dog her all her life.

— Washington Post, "For three generations of Bush women, personal pain and a public spotlight," 19 Mar. 2021

Past quality problems also continue to dog the two Korean car manufacturers, denting earnings.

— Ben Foldy, WSJ, "Hyundai, Kia Pick Up Speed in 2020 With New SUVs," 30 Dec. 2020

With your word of the day, I’m Mohammad Golpayegani.

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You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for May 27.

Sun Screen Day

Today’s word is plot, spelled p-l-o-t.

plot /plɒt $ plɑːt/ noun [countable]

the story of a book, film, play, etc.

The movie has a very simple plot.

The plots of his books are basically all the same.

It takes a fair amount of concentration to follow the movie's labyrinthine plot.

We discover that Jack isn’t as innocent as he seems, as the plot unfolds (=gradually becomes clearer).

Her books are page-turners, and yet there is more going on in them than just the mechanics of a clever plot …

— Robin McKinley, New York Times Book Review, 17 May 1987

To get into any plot details past this point is to play hopscotch in a minefield.

— David Fear, Rolling Stone, "‘The Woman in the Window’: Amy Adams Gets Rear-Windowed," 14 May 2021

With your word of the day, I’m Mohammad Golpayegani.

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You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for May 26.

Paper Airplane Day

Today’s word is bottle, spelled b-o-t-t-l-e.

bottle /ˈbɒtl $ ˈbɑːtl/ verb [transitive]

bottle something ↔ up phrasal verb

: to keep (a feeling or emotion) inside instead of expressing it

: to hide (a feeling or emotion)

She's kept her feelings about the accident bottled up for too long.

I know he's angry, but he bottles it up inside instead of talking to someone about it.

It is far better to cry than to bottle up your feelings.

Feelings that had been bottled up for years came flooding out.

I've been bottling it up inside me far too long.

With your word of the day, I’m Mohammad Golpayegani.

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You’re listening to Lingo Phoenix’s word of the day for May 25.

Wine Day

Today’s word is genre, spelled g-e-n-r-e.

genre /ˈʒɒnrə $ ˈʒɑːnrə/ ●○○ noun [countable] formal

a particular type of art, writing, music etc, which has certain features that all examples of this type share

What genre does the book fall into - comedy or tragedy?

Science fiction as a genre is relatively new.

This book is a classic of the mystery genre.

Younger audiences are becoming increasingly interested in bands of this musical grab-bag genre, and not only as a retro fad.

Italian filmmakers made their own versions of the classic Hollywood genres - the western, the gangster film, the musical.

In genre fiction there is an implied contract between writer and reader that justice of a kind will be exacted; "good" may not always triumph over "evil," but the distinction between the two must be honored.

— Joyce Carol Oates, New York Review of Books, 14 Aug. 2003

With your word of the day, I’m Mohammad Golpayegani.

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