Questions tagged [word-request]
This tag is for questions seeking a word that fits a meaning. Please demonstrate why you expect the word to exist in English. For example you could tell us a word that means the same in another language. Please use a bilingual dictionary and include the result of your research. Please include a sample sentence demonstrating how the word would be used. If you actually seek a phrase, or don't care, see the "phrase-request" tag.
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What do you call duties that take place at a specific time each week?
I want to set up a meeting with someone in the next few weeks. I want to write something like this:
My only fixed-time duty in the next few weeks is a weekly Monday meeting at 4 pm.
I want to express ...
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Can we say "The mom is hatching her premature baby"?
Normally, we say "the hen is hatching its eggs".
I am not sure if we can say "The hen is hatching its chick".
A mom, who has a premature baby, needs to hug her baby all the time on ...
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What do you call a document stating that you are entitled to support?
At my uni, students with disabilities are entitled to different kinds of accommodations, but in order to actually receive these accommodations, you need to have a document stating what kinds of ...
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technical name of the small part from a large panel
I am not native and are writing an essay, I am trying my best to use the appropriate word to describe the product, could I call the small red circled one tab? or fragment I are not sure the precise ...
Bill
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Is it correct to say "Do you want to have your photo with your classmates taken?"?
I have a daughter studying at kindergarten.
One day her teacher said to me that the class was taking a photo of its students (like a photo of a group of students in the same class. it seems like ...
- 18k
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urging someone to recognize something
The great writer urged the authorities to recognize the crimes committed during the war by the former government. Unfortunately, the authorities have ....
a. not followed his advice
b. not done his ...
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Can I use "work to" as a synonym of "make an effort to"?
In my native language, we use the verb for "work" + the infinitive marker to indicate that someone is making an effort/striving/endeavouring/trying to do something. To me, it seems that all ...
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do we say "sunbathe" when we sit in the sun in the very early morning to get some Vitamin D?
It seems Asian people seldom sit or lie in the sun to get their skin tanned. That's not so common.
However, they do have a tradition to stand or sit in the sun in the very early morning about (6-6:...
- 18k
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Word for people who take everything literally?
I’ve asked about this years ago and people took it the wrong way, every answer was about being intellectually challenged or not understanding figurative language. I don’t mean that. I teach Logic at ...
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Do we say "The man is bowing" in this situation?
When seeing a king, a peasant has to go down on his knees and bow like this.
Do we have a word to express this action?
Or Do we just say "The man is bowing"?
But if we say "The man is ...
- 18k
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What is the verb expressing that a child just wants their mom to be exclusively for them?
Now, a woman has a 5-year-old daughter and now she has just had a newborn baby. The daughter starts to get jealous of the baby because she just wants her mom to take care of her only not the baby.
...
- 18k
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What to Call a Document if It Has a Deadline?
There is a document that needs to be signed before a set date, and it will expire/become unusable if it's not signed before the set date. What to call this document?
I want to say "dated document&...
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What do we call a group of people who holds hostage for ransom?
I have watched the 2 films "Plane" and "Shotgun Wedding".
In these films, there is a group of people who holds hostage for ransom. And people in the films call them "pirates&...
- 18k
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Can "skills development" be used about abstract learning?
I need the English word for when you train to become better at something, and checking my bilingual dictionary, I get the word "skills development". However, I thought "skill" ...
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Is elderly friend correct?
How to say "My friend who is an elderly person" in one word? If we say "old friend" it usually means "A person who has been my friend for a long time". So what should we ...
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What are the normalized entries called on the table of contents of thefreedictionary?
For example, these multi-word expressions or lexical units can be listed in their very base forms on thefreedictionary.com:
leave one's mark
leave mark on
develop from
develop from someone
develop
...
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What's the name of this binding type where the pages of a book are bound at different locations?
In the book shown below, the pages are bound at five different locations:
What's the name of this binding type where the pages of a book are bound at different locations?
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Can "take office" be used for any profession, or what expression should I use?
According to Merriam-Webster, "take office" means "to begin the job or responsibility of one in a position of authority especially in the government" (my emphasis). Does this mean ...
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Long lasting food category naming
What do you call a category of groceries that lasts long? Examples include food in cans, rice, pasta, cereals, chocolate.
Suggestions:
durables
durable food
durable food products category
long-...
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What do you call exams where students sit in a large room or hall and answer questions in writing?
As the heading suggests, I'm wondering what you call the kind of exam (at the university) where all the students on a certain course gather at a specific date and time in a large room or hall and each ...
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Do we have a phrase expressing that you missed doing something but you decided to move ahead without getting back?
You packed your stuff for a trip to a place.
When you are half way to the place, you realized you forgot to take your ipad with you.
But you decided to keep on the trip rather than returning back home ...
- 18k
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a word for the degree of how far an artillery system can send its missiles
Is there a noun in English that expresses the degree of how far an artillery system/weapon/installation can send its rockets/missiles/shells?
For example:
Whether we will eventually buy weapons from ...
- 4,122
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A word for a person who takes credit for others' work
I'm searching for a word to describe a person who always steals credit of others and always hails himself/herself as the best.
Rulers of countries are generally portrayed with such a character. They ...
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What is the word expressing the study of the connection between human physical appearance and human characters?
According to Chinese or some Asian old knowledge, there is a connection between human physical appearance and human characters.
For example, a person who has high cheek bones tends to demand things ...
- 18k
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A child who behaves as an adult
All of us are aware of Peter Parker (aka Spiderman). From his dialogues, he tries to sound mature as if he were an adult, though he is 14.
Okay, let's come to the question, what do you call a child ...
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What is American equivalent of "Can you move up a bit"?
I the Oxford Dictionary, they say
a bit [singular] (especially British English) a short time or distance
Can you move up a bit?
The dictionary didn't say the equivalent expression in American ...
- 18k
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1
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What to write on an invitation: "Dress", "dress code", "attire", or something else?
I'm putting together an invitation to the premiere of a play, and since many of the guests are English, it needs to be in English. This is the text, where I've just used "dress" as a place ...
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Is it correct to say "I bought 2 sets of 3 bunk beds"?
Normally, we just have a unit of bunk beds that has just 2 beds that look like this. Is it correct to say "I have a pair of bunk beds" or "I have a set of 2 bunk beds"?
..............
- 18k
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How do you say that a teacher/researcher at the university "belongs" to a certian subject?
If I want to say which subject a teacher at the university "belongs" to, how do I say this in idiomatic English? Can I use "belong to", or is there a more idiomatic way of saying ...
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What is the person who guards a parking area called?
A parking area might have a person who stands at the entrance. You buy a ticket from them and the person lets you park your car in the parking area.
When you want to get out of parking area, you give ...
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Is it correct to say "I fingerprint into the building"?
Some buildings require a magnetic card to get in.
I asked a question before and it seems that people say "I swipe into the building every morning".
However, some buildings require you to ...
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Is it correct to say "students salute the flag in the schoolyard before first class"?
In some countries, school children must salute in front of their school flag in the morning before beginning their first class.
Do you have that custom in England or America?
If yes, what is the ...
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How to express "stupid/fool/dumb brother" in a friendly way? [closed]
I vaguely remember in the past I heard a father said with a smile, "My stupid boy/son, it is a cat, not a dog." In this context, the father was not scolding his son. It's spoken in a ...
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What do you call a cicada/grasshopper sound?
I'm in a search of a word describing a sound of grasshoppers/cicadas. Chirr might be one, but I suspect it may be not common enough, because I didn't find much of examples in dictionaries and Collins ...
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What onomatopoeia for cat steps would be clear for English speaker?
I need a word to imitate a series of light steps, to indicate that some small creature is walking - a cat, a little child or a small dog.
I used 'Top-top-top-top-top' for that, but it seems not to be ...
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What verb should I use to refer to my studies?
When I search for the following string on Ngrams, I get no hits at all:
studied a bachelor's programme,took a bachelor's programme,attended a bachelor's programme
Nor do I get any hits for either ...
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How would describe a picture in terms of the degree to which a subject is visible?
How would describe a picture in terms of the degree to which a subject is visible? For example, how would you describe this picture of a bear? Something like "chest-high" comes to mind, but ...
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Is there one word for the 4 not vertical and not horizontal directions of the 8 directions?
Here are 8 directions: up, down, left, right, upleft, upright, downleft, downright.
Is there one word that covers "upleft, upright, downleft, downright" ?
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Supplement, complement, or some other verb?
When I need to add information of some kind to something else, should I use "supplement", "complement" – or another verb entirely? I have looked up both these verbs in various ...
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Do we have an expression saying that a person is in a bad situation but doesn't dare to fight back but wait until the right moment?
Say, you are working for a bad boss who treats you badly. However, you don't dare to do anything to upset him but sneakily apply for a new job and wait until you get a new job offer.
When you get a ...
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"the process how to get a temporary emergency passport" Is this English correct?
https://eikaiwa.weblio.jp/information/travel-english/travel-english-emergencies-contacting-the-embassy
This English material says "Do you know the process how to get a temporary emergency ...
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A word to describe a person who dismantles electronic products
There are some Youtubers and Vloggers who make videos to show how they dismantle and/or modify electronic products like mobile phones, and maybe other kinds of stuff. Is there a word in English to ...
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What is the opposite of "for free"?
On Word Hippo all the antonyms mean "expensive".
But I need one word as the opposite of "for free" at all regardless of the amount.
That is "on paid basis" but something ...
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Looking for words/expressions less strong than "fail to"
Take this expression:
A fails to do X
To me, "fails to" means that A is completely unsuccessful in doing X.
I am looking for less strong words/expressions that convey the meaning that A is ...
user167211
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Word for a hideout that's not for hiding
I'm writing a book in which the main character has a "hideout" in a small cave. Except, it's not for hiding. It's a place to dump tools and equipment that you'd need for a cave expedition. ...
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Do we have a common word expressing "paradoxical" in everyday English? [closed]
In the dictionary
paradoxical adjective (of a person, thing or situation) having
two opposite features and therefore seeming strange
It is paradoxical that some of the poorest people live in some of ...
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What is the word saying that you mistakenly paint outside the lines when you do a painting?
My children are attending a painting class (not a drawing class).
They first draw an outline of a picture in pencil on a paper.
Then, they paint within the lines of the picture and try not to paint ...
- 18k
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Is there a single word for the emotion conveyed by the expression, "don't look at me"?
Is there a single word for the emotion conveyed by the expression, "I don't want to have anything to do with it"?
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At grocery stores, alcoholic drinks are in the liquor section and non-alcoholic drinks are in the _______ section
What would you call this "non-alcoholic" section at a grocery store? It contains soft drinks, fruit juice, bottled water, energy drinks and similar stuff. I suppose "non-alcoholic ...
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How do I say that a university has accepted my application for a course or programme?
When I google "I have been admitted to" I get a few hits such as the following:
"I have been admitted to the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies."
"I have been admitted ...
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