Vocabulary in the News: Is the End of Recession in Sight?

 

 

dry up phrasal verb [intransitive] to stop being available What will happen to the project when the money dries up?

estate agent noun [British English – countable] someone whose job is to help people buy and sell or rent property. The American word is real estate agent.

a glimmer of hope expression a very small sign that something might improve or succeed The survey reports a glimmer of hope for the small business sector.

gloomy adjective showing that things are not going well and will probably not go well in the future gloomy prospects The economic news is gloomy.

housing market noun general market of houses being purchased and sold between buyers and sellers either directly by owners or indirectly through brokers The plan is to overpay the banks for bad mortgages, claiming that this will support the housing market.

laggard noun [old fashioned – countable] a person or organization that is slow to do something or slow to make progress

leave untouched verb expression to not change Due to the economic news, the central bank decided to leave interest rates untouched.

letting noun [countable] property that is leased or rented out or let This agency has sound knowledge in the residential lettings market.

liable to do something verbal expression likely to do something bad or unpleasant The handle on this door is liable to break.

patchy adjective not detailed enough or complete enough to be useful patchy evidence I have only a patchy knowledge of Spanish history.

semi or semi-detached house noun [countable] semi-detached houses share one wall between them, so they are built in pairs

swanky adjective [informal] fashionable and expensive a swanky restaurant/hotel/car

take on verbal phrase [transitive] to accept some work or responsibility I can’t take on any more work at the moment.

turn the corner colloquial verb expression to begin to be healthy, happy or successful again after a difficult period Has the economy finally turned the corner? With this new job, I feel I’m finally turning a corner.

turnaround noun [countable] an important change in a situation that causes it to improve an economic turnaround

viewing noun [countable] on occasion on which people are invited to go and look at something; the act of visiting property one might purchase We’ve been invited to a private viewing of Trevor’s exhibition.

Please note that the video link may become inactive over time.