Hi and welcome to the Espresso English Podcast, where you can improve your English in just a few minutes a day.
My name is Shaina and I'm the teacher at Espresso English.
Make sure to visit the website EspressoEnglishnet, where you can get online courses and e-books that will help you learn English even faster.
Let's get started with today's lesson.
Hi students, it's Shaina from EspressoEnglishnet, and today is the first day of our five-day mini-course about English words with multiple meanings.
In this mini-course, we're going to look at five very common words and learn a total of a hundred different ways to use them.
This will improve your ability to express yourself in English, because you're going to discover lots of new ways to use some words you already know.
Here's how the course works.
Each daily lesson will focus on one word, and I'll teach you various meanings of that word in English, as well as how it's used in some idiomatic expressions and phrasal verbs.
After you watch the video, make sure to do the exercises that are included, so that you can review what you've learned and put it into practice.
Practicing is the key to remembering these words and expressions so that you can actually use them when you speak English.
Today's word is run.
This simple word has approximately 645 different definitions and uses in the dictionary.
And you might be thinking, it's impossible to learn them all.
You're right.
And it's not even necessary to memorize all 645 definitions.
Instead, you should focus on the most common ones used in daily life.
And that's what I'm going to teach you in today's lesson.
We'll cover 16 meanings for run as well as five common phrasal verbs and five idioms.
So let's get started.
The first definition of run you already know.
It means to go fast by moving your legs quickly.
So I won't spend much time on this one, except to say that we can show the direction of running with the preposition used after it.
So run away or run away from means to go away, to increase the distance.
For example, the people ran away from the burning building.
Run off means to go away from me or go away from the point of reference.
For example, yesterday I saw a rabbit in my yard, but when I got closer, it ran off.
Or I could also say it ran away.
That's the same thing.
We also sometimes say run off to a destination.
For example, after finishing their homework, my kids ran off to the playground.
So they went away from me or away from our house and to in the direction of the playground.
Run to and run towards are the opposite of run away, meaning to decrease the distance.
For example, the little boy ran to his mother after he fell down and scraped his knee, or the soccer players ran towards the goal.
Run around means to run in various directions.
So my dog barks and runs around the house whenever someone knocks on the door.
And run after means to chase or pursue, to follow someone or something as they run.
So we could say the dog ran after the cat.
Before moving on to our next definition of run, let me also show you a few common collocations when talking about running as a sport.
We can go running.
I like to go running in the early evening.
We can run a distance.
They run two miles every morning.
Or we can run a race or run a marathon.
She's training to run a marathon next month.
Okay, let's look at another definition of run and that is to manage something.
Usually managing a business, a company, a campaign, or some sort of operation.
For example, he runs an import export business.
I don't like the way the director runs the customer service department.
We ran a successful advertising campaign during the summer.
All of these use run in the sense of managing something.
If we describe something as well run or say it runs smoothly or runs efficiently, that means it operates and functions well.
For example, it was a well run conference.
All the events started on time.
Our next definition is in the area of transportation where we use run for operating on a schedule.
For example, the train runs every hour.
Bus service stops running at midnight.
The public transportation in Germany usually runs on time.
If a form of transportation is delayed, we can say it's running late.
You can also use this to talk about people's schedules when they are doing things later than the anticipated time.
For example, can we move the meeting from 4 to 5?
I'm running late today.
We also use run and running with machines, especially car engines, as well as computer programs to mean they are functioning.
For example, oh no, I locked the keys in the car with the engine running.
You should always have antivirus software running on your computer.
In politics, to run for office means to be a candidate for a political position.
So if you're running for President, it means you hope to be elected President.
Someone can run for any position to which they hope to be elected.
So run for President of a country, run for governor of a state, or run for mayor of a city.
When talking about liquids, to run means to flow, for the liquid to move in a certain direction.
So you could say, the little boy had tears running down his cheeks.
Or, my nose is running.
I need a tissue.
It means that the liquid mucus is flowing out of your nose.
Who left the faucet running in the kitchen sink?
Again, meaning the water is flowing out of it.
In some places that are more rural or not very developed, there's no running water.
The expression running water refers to having water easily available in your house, when you simply open a faucet and the water comes out.
So if there's no running water, then you would need to bring in water from outside in buckets.
Run can also be used in the sense of something stretching or extending from one place to another.
So I could say, the train tracks run alongside the river.
She has a tattoo of a sword running down her leg.
These use run in the sense of stretching or extending.
The word run can also mean continue to operate for a time period.
For example, this internship runs from June to August, or The river cleanup project ran from 2012 to 2015.
Run can also be used in the sense of do, mostly in the expression run errands, meaning to do necessary tasks outside the house, like going to the supermarket, bank or post office.
Scientists can also run a test or run an experiment.
This is a less formal way to say do a test or experiment.
One informal meaning of run is to leave.
When someone says I've got to run, it means I need to leave or I need to go to the next place or the next commitment on my agenda.
Run is also used in a couple different ways in these specific expressions.
To run a fever means that your body temperature is higher than normal.
Run a fever is essentially the same thing as have a fever.
If there's a characteristic or a disease that runs in the family, that means that several people in the same family have this same characteristic or disease.
So if a grandmother, mother and daughter are all artists, you can say that artistic skills run in the family.
Or if parents and children both have diabetes, again, that disease runs in the family.
One expression in traffic is to run a red light, which is when a car passes through a red traffic light when they were supposed to stop.
Running a red light is illegal and you can get in trouble if the police or a traffic camera catches you running a red light.
A very common phrase is when we talk about running a risk.
This means you are experiencing a risk or some danger.
So if you smoke, you run the risk of developing lung cancer.
Those were a whole bunch of ways to use run as a verb, but it can also be a noun.
One meaning of run as a noun is a quick trip.
For example, I'm going to make a grocery run.
Do you need anything?
The package will be dropped off during the next delivery run.
Finally, a run can be a sequence or series of something when something keeps happening repeatedly.
So saying you're having a run of bad luck means that unlucky things are happening to you frequently and repeatedly.
Or a book might have a successful run if it stays on top of the bestseller list for several months.
All right, those aren't the only ways to use run.
There are a lot more, but I've selected the most common ones that are used pretty frequently in daily life.
But we're not done yet.
The word run is also used in several phrasal verbs.
Here are five of them.
If something runs out or if you run out of the item, it means the item is all used up and there is no more of it.
So if you run out of milk at home, then you need to go buy more milk.
If you're taking a test where there's a one hour time limit and your time runs out, it means the time is finished and there's no more time available.
Describing something as run down means it is in bad physical condition because it is old and it has been used a lot.
This is typically used to describe old houses and buildings that are not well maintained.
You can also describe yourself as feeling run down, when you are tired and you don't have much energy.
To run into someone means to encounter that person by chance.
You didn't plan to meet up with them.
It was a coincidence.
For example, I ran into my English teacher at the mall.
The phrasal verb run over is used for when a car hits and drives over something.
For example, I felt so bad that I ran over a squirrel on my way to work this morning.
And the last phrasal verb we'll look at is run through.
To run through some information means to quickly look at or present the main points.
So on airplanes, the flight attendants run through basic safety information before the plane takes off.
They go over the main points quickly.
In addition to multiple meanings of the word run and several phrasal verbs, we also have idioms.
There are tons of these and it's not possible to cover them all in one lesson, but I'll just teach you a few so that you can get an idea of the types of expressions where we use the word run.
Two simple ones are in the long run and in the short run.
These simply mean in the long term and in the short term.
Talking about distant future and near future in the long run is probably more common.
For example, maybe you're going to buy a very expensive mattress.
It's hard to spend a lot of money on it, but you know it'll be worth it in the long run because it will improve your sleep and help you feel better for a long time.
Describing something as a home run or saying someone hit a home run means it was very successful.
This expression comes from the sport of baseball, where a home run describes hitting the baseball out of the park and immediately scoring points.
It's like the best thing you can do in that sport.
Now we can use it for any action that's very successful.
For example, maybe you're learning how to cook and your first few dinners don't turn out very well.
But then you hit a home run with your lasagna, meaning the dish came out great, it was successful.
If something is running rampant, it means it is spreading out of control.
Right now, when I'm recording this lesson unfortunately, coronavirus is running rampant in the United States.
We usually use this expression for bad things that are out of control.
So corruption running rampant in a government or crime running rampant in a city.
It's spreading out of control.
Our final expression today is to run the gamut, meaning to cover a wide range of things.
We usually say something runs the gamut from a to z.
For example, my tastes in music run the gamut from hip-hop to country music or espresso.
English courses run the gamut from grammar to pronunciation, meaning we cover a wide range of things that are varied.
Wow, that was a lot of information.
You learned 16 meanings for the word run, plus five phrasal verbs and five idioms, for a total of 26 different ways to use this common word.
Now it's time to practice and there are two good ways to do that.
One is to download the worksheet that comes with this lesson.
You'll find the link under this video.
So download the worksheet and do the exercise so that you can review everything.
And another excellent way to practice is to create your own example sentences using the word run in various ways and write those down.
Make these sentences things that are true for you.
So what's the last food item you ran out of?
I recently ran out of bread at home.
What's a company you think is well run?
It is managed or it functions efficiently.
Describe a time you hit a home run.
You did something very successful.
So when you use these expressions in sentences that are personalized, it will help you internalize and remember all the different ways to use run.
That's all for day one of this mini course.
I hope you enjoyed the video and I'll talk to you tomorrow.
Hello students and welcome to day two of our mini course on words with multiple meanings.
Yesterday's word was run, and today we'll focus on get.
Again, a very common word, but one that is extremely versatile.
This means it can be used in lots of different ways.
You already know the basic meaning of get, but today you're going to learn 20 more ways to use it.
Let's get started.
Get means receive.
You can get a gift, get an email, get a chance meaning to receive an opportunity.
Get a grade on a test.
Get an award, get a scholarship.
There are lots of collocations with get meaning receive.
A second meaning of get is to obtain.
Now this is a little different from receive.
When you receive something, you made no effort.
Someone else gave it to you.
So if you get a gift for your birthday, you didn't do anything to receive it.
But when you obtain something, you put in some effort.
So you can get a job.
You applied for the job.
Maybe you did an interview and then they offered you the job.
You can get information, meaning you go and search for the information so that you have it.
You can get some sleep, meaning you take the action of going to bed.
You can get results at work.
So you're probably doing tasks in order to obtain results.
Get results.
Get can also mean to buy.
You can get tickets to a concert.
You buy them.
If you see someone wearing a shirt you like, you can say, where did you get that shirt?
Meaning, where did you buy it?
You can get something for a good price or get a bargain on something, both of which mean to pay a fair or a small amount of money compared to the high value you receive.
For example, you can get a bargain on the complete program at Espresso English because it's available at a 50 discount.
So you can buy it at a good price.
Another place we use get to mean buy is when we're ordering at a restaurant or coffee shop.
It's very common to say, can I get a large coffee or can I get some French fries?
Meaning you want to order, you want to buy that food or drink item.
We also use get in the sense of bring.
So if I'm already in bed and I feel cold, I might ask my husband, can you get me an extra blanket?
Meaning can you bring it to me?
We often say go get when someone needs to go somewhere in order to bring back an item.
So let's say there's a meeting at work and there aren't enough chairs in the meeting room.
Then my assistant could go get more chairs, meaning she will go and then bring the chairs.
Or if someone is injured, you might say, I'll go get the first aid kit, meaning you'll bring it.
Informally, we use get to mean arrive.
For example, I usually get home from work around six, meaning arrive at home.
You can also use get when talking about arriving from travel.
So if we take the next available flight, we'll get to New York on Monday morning.
When asking for directions, you could say, how can I get to the train station?
Meaning how can I go there?
How can I arrive there?
Get also means become.
You can get angry, get excited, get tired, get sick, get older and get lost.
Something can get better or get worse, meaning it is becoming better or worse.
We also use it for changes in marital status.
So two people can get engaged, meaning they plan to marry each other, get married and get divorced.
You can also get dressed meaning to put on your clothes and get ready, meaning to prepare yourself.
When you get drunk, it means you become intoxicated with too much alcohol.
And when you get used to something, it means you become accustomed to it.
All these expressions I just mentioned use get in the sense of becoming or changing status.
Another informal use of get is to understand.
If you say, I don't get it, that means I don't understand.
You can also say I don't get followed by a question word and the topic you don't understand.
For example, I don't get why they broke up.
They seemed to have a perfect relationship.
I don't get how to use this computer program.
Or if someone tells a joke and you didn't understand what's funny about it, you could say you didn't get the joke.
If you get to do something, it means you have a good or a special opportunity.
For example, if my kids finish all their homework, they get to watch a movie before bed.
He's upset because he didn't get to take a vacation last year.
Get to do something meaning having a good or special opportunity.
On the other hand, if you have got to do something, that means you need to do it.
You have an obligation to do it or you should do it.
This typically sounds like gotta in informal spoken English.
Here are some examples of gotta referring to obligations.
I've gotta pick up my kids from school.
If you borrow books from the library, you've gotta return them.
That movie is awesome.
You've got to see it.
That means you should.
It's a strong recommendation, not necessarily an obligation in this case.
Here's one that's a little different.
When you get someone to do something, it means you persuade or convince the person to do it.
For example, after a lot of discussion, I finally got him to agree with me.
I convinced him to agree with me.
It's hard to get my kids to help with housework.
They don't want to help, so i need to persuade or convince them to help.
I need to get my kids to help.
Finally, when you get something done, it means you make or cause it to happen.
Now, sometimes this means doing it yourself, and other times it means you cause someone else to do it for you.
For example, I like to get all my housework done by noon.
So this means I finished it myself.
I get my housework done.
My car has broken down.
I need to get it fixed.
This means someone else will do it.
I'll probably take it to a mechanic and the mechanic will fix it.
Get is also used in a ton of phrasal verbs, and many of these phrasal verbs also have multiple meanings.
Here's just a sample of a few common phrasal verbs with get.
To get along with someone means to have a good relationship with them without conflict.
Or we could say the opposite not get along with someone, meaning two people don't like each other or they have some conflict or tension in their relationship.
For example, I'm glad I get along with all my coworkers.
We have a good, nice, polite relationship.
I don't get along with one of my cousins.
I find her so annoying, so I don't get along with her.
We don't have a good relationship.
The phrasal verb get around is used for managing to go places physically.
So if you have a broken leg, you would find it difficult to get around on crutches.
Some cities, like London, have an extensive public transportation system so it's easy to get around, to manage, to go from place to place.
Next we have get back.
This can mean to return to a place.
For example, I'm going shopping at a bunch of stores and I'm not sure what time I'll get back, what time I'll return.
There's another meaning for this phrasal verb and that is when we say get back at someone.
It means to take revenge, to do something to hurt a person who hurt us in the past.
The expression get over means to recover emotionally from a difficult experience.
So if someone you love dies, it would take you a long time to get over it.
Another way to use this expression is as a command telling someone, get over it.
We do this when the person is continuing to be sad or upset over something minor or silly, and we want them to stop obsessing about a minor problem.
We should probably only use this expression with very good friends.
When it comes to transportation, we get into and get out of cars and we get on or get onto and get off trains buses planes, bicycles and motorcycles.
To finish up this lesson, let's look at a couple idioms with get.
Get is used in hundreds of idioms, so this is just a small taste.
If you'd like to focus more on idioms, you can join my 300 plus idioms course for a lot more expressions.
Okay, our first idiom is to get wind of something, which means to learn about or hear about some secret, usually indirectly.
Let's say a teenager is planning to have a party while his parents are out of the house, but then his parents get wind of it.
They learn about this secret when they see a comment he made on social media.
So they discovered the secret in an indirect way.
When a celebrity or famous person is involved in a divorce, they often try to keep the details private, because when the media gets wind of it, when they hear about it, then they will publish all the information about it.
Another idiom is to get your act together.
This means to take action to become well organized and better prepared.
For example, Let's say your friend Maria has started and stopped studying English many times in the past.
She's never really taken it seriously.
But then she could decide to get her act together by committing to an English course and establishing a regular schedule for studying.
So she has taken action to be better organized.
One very informal expression you might hear in TV shows or casual conversations is get a load of this.
We say it when we want to call someone's attention to something that seems especially notable or interesting.
If you see a luxury car that you know is worth 100000, you could say to your friend get a load of that car because you want your friend to notice it.
Some people also say get a load of this when they are about to share some scandalous information.
For example, get a load of this.
Our college professor was fired because he was flirting with one of his students.
We want the person to pay special attention to what we are about to say.
Sometimes, when you're doing a task, you enter a state where you really have all your energy focused on it.
You're totally concentrating on it.
And as a result, you are working or learning very smoothly and efficiently.
Entering this state of concentration is called getting in the groove.
Sometimes, when I'm writing English lessons, I get in the groove and the ideas come very easily to my mind because I'm so focused and fully immersed in the task.
Or maybe you like to do a big cleaning of your house once a month.
You take the whole day to get in the groove and fully clean your house from top to bottom.
I hope my lessons can help you get in the groove when it comes to studying English.
My goal with Espresso English is to help you learn in a way that's easy, efficient, and fun.
That's all for today.
Make sure to tune in for tomorrow's video on words with multiple meanings.
Hi, students.
It's day three of our mini course.
All about words with multiple meanings, and our word today is break.
Get ready to learn lots of different ways to use this word in English.
The basic and most common definition is to damage something and separate it into pieces.
So, yesterday I was washing the dishes and I accidentally dropped a glass and it broke.
If you break your arm or break your leg, it means the bone has separated into pieces.
Ouch!
You can break something by accident, as in the example of dropping a glass, or you can break it on purpose.
So if I have a big chocolate bar I want to give to three kids, I would break the chocolate into three pieces.
We also use break when something stops working or stops being functional, even if it's not physically in pieces.
So if your printer keeps showing an error message and it won't print, you could say the printer is broken, it's not functioning.
If you break the law, break a promise, break an agreement or break the rules, it means you do something that is contrary to or against that law promise, agreement or rule, or you fail to follow the agreement.
So if the speed limit is 35 miles an hour and you are driving at 50 miles an hour, you are breaking the law.
If you promised your friend you'd help him move to a new apartment, but then you didn't.
You broke your promise because you failed to do what you promised.
In soccer, touching the ball with your hands is breaking the rules of the sport, unless you're the goalkeeper.
We also use break to mean stop for a short time.
For example, in the middle of an all-day meeting, the boss might say, let's break for lunch.
Let's stop the meeting briefly for lunch.
It's probably more common to use the noun form by saying let's take a break when we sometimes describe what the stop or pause is for, so you can talk about a coffee break, a bathroom break, a smoking break or a cigarette break or a lunch break.
These all describe brief pauses or stops in the middle of an activity in order to eat drink, go to the bathroom or smoke.
In a similar way, break can also mean to interrupt something and sometimes stop it permanently.
So if you break a habit, it means you stop doing something that you previously did often.
If I eat a lot of fast food, I need to break that habit if I want to become healthier.
So remember, take a break is a temporary pause, but if you break a habit, hopefully you stop the habit permanently.
Other expressions that use break in the sense of interrupt are when it's quiet, but then something breaks the silence.
Like if everyone in a meeting is quiet and thinking about how to solve a problem and then someone says I have an idea.
That comment would break the silence, interrupt the silence.
Another expression is to break your train of thought.
This is used when you're thinking deeply about a topic and concentrating hard on it, but then something happens to distract you.
If I'm focusing on developing a new lesson but then my cell phone rings, it would break my train of thought.
And if I answer the phone call, I might have a hard time getting back to what I was thinking about.
Finally, if someone is falling, hopefully there's something to break the fall, to interrupt the fall before the person hits the ground.
So when people are training to be in the circus and they're doing dangerous acrobatics high in the air, there's a net underneath to break the fall.
So if they do fall down, their fall would be interrupted before they hit the ground.
Break can also mean to weaken, hurt or destroy something, usually something that's not physical.
So if someone breaks your heart, it means they hurt you very badly emotionally.
Maybe a boyfriend or girlfriend who you really loved decided to end the relationship unexpectedly.
That would break your heart.
If something breaks your spirit, that's different.
That means it destroys your confidence and self-esteem.
So let's say some parents are always telling their child negative things like, you're so stupid.
That would break the child's spirit.
It would damage their confidence and self-esteem.
Another example is to break power.
So sometimes governments make laws to break the power of large corporations, meaning to weaken or destroy the power of those companies.
And if something breaks your resolve, it means it weakens or destroys your decision or determination to do something.
Let's say I really want to be a doctor, but then I read an article about how doctors are always really stressed.
That might break my resolve, destroy my determination to become a doctor.
When talking about the context of news, break can mean to reveal something to the public.
Saying the scandal broke means that the scandal was made known publicly.
And we also have the expression breaking news, which means the most recent news that is being published very soon after it happened.
That's breaking news.
In a similar way of break, meaning to make something known, we have a specific expression break the news to somebody, which means to inform them of bad news.
Let's say I see my neighbor's dog escape from their house and get hit by a car.
I will then have to go break the news to my neighbor that unfortunately their dog is injured or dead.
Break can also be used to mean running or escaping.
So to break free from something is to escape it, to manage to get free from it.
For example, after many years of counseling, my uncle finally broke free from his addiction to gambling.
We can also talk about a prison break, meaning when prisoners escape from the prison.
And then there's an expression, make a break for it, which means to suddenly run very quickly.
So if I find a big spider in my bathroom, I'll make a break for the door.
Or if I let go of my daughter's hand in the supermarket, she'll make a break for the candy aisle, meaning she'll run there.
When talking about nature, we have a few different expressions with the word break.
When we say the break of day, the break of dawn or daybreak, we are talking about the very beginning of the day, when the sun first comes up.
If we say a storm broke, it means the storm began.
And we can also say an ocean wave breaks when it reaches its highest point and then starts to collapse down.
When it comes to relationships, break often means a separation.
The phrasal verb break up is used when a romantic relationship ends and the two partners separate.
So John and his girlfriend broke up last week.
We also have the expression make a clean break, which emphasizes that the separation is complete so that you can start fresh.
Maybe you had some bad experiences in your city and so you moved to a new place so that you can make a clean break with your past.
You can completely separate from it without continuing to be involved in anything from your past.
Alright, a few quick and specific expressions to finish up this part of the lesson.
If someone's voice breaks, it means that it changes tone because of strong emotion.
So if your friend is talking about a recent tragedy that affected them personally, their voice might break.
Their speaking would be interrupted or would sound a little different because of their strong emotion, their strong sadness.
We also use this expression in another way.
When a boy is around 13 years old, his voice breaks.
It changes to have a deeper tone, so he sounds less like a child and more like a man.
Another expression.
If your friend asks, Hey, can you break a 20?
He is talking about money and he's asking if you have smaller bills, like a 5 bill or a 10 bill, to exchange for his 20 bill.
So maybe he wants to buy a 2 item from the vending machine and he doesn't want to put a whole 20 bill in there.
So he asks if you have smaller bills to break his $20 bill.
So if you gave him a four bills of $5, that would be breaking his $20 bill.
When you hear someone talking about a big break.
This is an informal way to talk about a sudden opportunity or quick success, especially when it comes to a career.
So let's say there's an actress who has only had minor parts for many years, but then she gets a big break when she's given the leading role in a major movie.
This is a sudden great opportunity.
It's her big break and that implies that she will have continued success after this opportunity.
Now let's turn our focus to some phrasal verbs with the word break.
I already mentioned break up, meaning to end a romantic relationship, and now we'll learn some more. if a machine breaks down it means it stops functioning we often use this for cars so my car broke down on the highway and i had to get it towed we can also say a person breaks down or a person has a breakdown this means they have a sudden failure of their health sometimes physically but more often mentally and emotionally meaning they suddenly get totally overwhelmed and very upset or very depressed so A new mom of triplets, that's three babies, might get so stressed by all the responsibility that she has a breakdown.
Maybe she stops eating and she stops getting out of bed.
That would be having a breakdown, a sudden collapse or failure of her mental and emotional health.
To break through means to make a quick advance, especially through an obstacle.
You'll often hear this in the noun form when talking about a breakthrough.
So if scientists are trying to develop some new technology and they make a breakthrough, it means they have suddenly gotten past the challenges and they've made great new progress.
We use the phrasal verb break out when a bad skin problem suddenly appears.
So your face might break out in a rash.
That's red, irritated skin.
Or you might break out with pimples.
Those are small bumps from clogged pores.
It's also common to talk about fights or violence breaking out when those things suddenly appear.
When a robber forcefully enters a house or business, usually in order to steal something, this is called breaking in, or you could say he's breaking into the building.
All right, we're not done yet.
Let's finish up with a few idioms.
The first one is break the bank.
This means to be very expensive, almost like it will use up all your money.
If you're shopping for a new refrigerator, you could tell the salesperson I'm looking for a fridge that's reliable but won't break the bank, meaning it won't cost a ton of money.
To break rank or break ranks means to do something differently than other members of a group.
So if all the teachers in a school use textbooks to teach and one teacher decides to use games instead, that teacher is breaking rank because they are acting differently from the group.
If everyone in my family is an engineer and I decide to become a painter instead, I'm breaking rank.
I'm doing things differently.
Breaking rank can be a good thing, a bad thing, or a neutral thing.
Finally, a very common expression is to give someone a break.
This actually has a few different meanings.
One is to be more flexible or understanding and less strict or demanding, or to give someone another chance.
If a student failed to turn in an assignment because they had last minute computer problems, the teacher might give him a break and allow him to turn it in late.
The teacher is being flexible with the rules and allowing an exception or another chance.
They're giving the student a break.
Now, when someone says, give me a break as an exclamation, this is different.
This usually means either stop annoying me or that's ridiculous or I don't believe it.
Let me give you some examples.
If my friend is texting me hundreds of times a day and expects me to reply instantly all the time, I might tell her give me a break, to mean stop bothering me with all these texts.
Let's say, in my job I normally work with 10 clients per month and now my boss wants me to take 20 clients per month.
I might complain to my husband, he's doubling my workload.
Give me a break to mean that's ridiculous.
Imagine my teenage son always sleeps in until noon on the weekends.
He then tells me he's planning on waking up at 6am to exercise.
I might say, you'll wake up that early?
Give me a break!
To mean, I don't believe it.
Whew, those were a lot of definitions and expressions, and it's time for me to take a break.
I suggest you take a break too.
Go get some water, get some coffee and then come back and try the practice exercise so that you can review what you learned today.
Bye for now.
Hi there.
It's lesson four of our mini course on words with multiple meanings, and we're going to focus on the word cut.
Today you'll learn 20 ways to use it, from different definitions to phrasal verbs to idioms.
The basic meaning of cut, which you already know, is to separate into pieces by using something sharp.
So you can cut a piece of paper with scissors, you can cut hair to make it shorter, or you can cut a cake with a knife, and so on.
In this case, cut is a verb describing the action of separating by using something sharp.
The word cut also functions as a noun to refer to the injury you receive when your skin is separated by something sharp.
You can describe a cut in your skin as a deep cut or a nasty cut if it's major, and a small cut or a minor cut if it's a little one.
When you get a tiny cut from the edge of a piece of paper.
That's specifically called a paper cut and it hurts a lot for such a small cut.
Getting back to cut being used as a verb, cut can also mean to reduce.
This is often used with money.
If a store cuts prices, it means it reduces its prices.
If the government cuts taxes, it reduces taxes.
If your company needs to cut costs, it means it needs to reduce the amount of money it is spending.
Informally, we often use the phrasal verbs cut down and cut back to talk about reducing things other than money, especially food.
If you want to be healthier, you should cut down on, reduce sugary and fatty foods.
Or maybe you're drinking too much beer and you decide to cut back, reduce the amount of beer you drink.
Cut can also mean to remove or delete completely, and this is most often used when talking about text plays and movies or TV shows.
If I'm editing an article and I see a paragraph that would be confusing to the reader, I might cut that paragraph, delete it completely.
Or the producers of a movie might decide to cut a scene that doesn't contribute to the storyline.
They would remove or delete that scene totally.
The word cut as a noun can also mean a part of something.
For example, when talking about a cut of meat, that means meat from a specific part of the animal.
A few examples of different cuts of beef are ribs, tenderloin, and flank steak.
There are many different cuts of meat and they vary from country to country.
Another place.
Cut means part is when talking about a cut of the profits, meaning a part or a portion of the profits.
So a company that has salespeople might offer them a 10 cut of the profits in order to motivate them to make more sales.
That means they would receive a 10% part or portion of the profits.
One informal use of cut is to be able to manage or handle something successfully.
And this is most frequently used in the negative expression, saying that something doesn't cut it or can't cut it.
For example, He was a pretty good student in high school, but he couldn't cut it in college, meaning he couldn't handle the college classes successfully.
Or maybe there's a new employee who is not doing her work very well.
She'll lose her job soon if she doesn't cut it, if she doesn't manage to do the work well.
Cut can also mean to hurt someone's feelings, usually hurting someone's feelings with words or comments.
If your ex-boyfriend said something really mean to you, you could say his comment cut me deeply, meaning it hurt your feelings badly.
Two more ways to express this are saying that the comment cut me to the quick or cut me to the bone.
Again, those mean that the comment hurt your feelings a lot.
This use also appears in the expression a cutting remark, meaning a statement that hurts feelings.
So if your mother really loves you but you tell her something like you've never really cared about me, that would be a cutting remark.
It would hurt her feelings.
Let's finish with three more quick and specific uses of cut.
One is to cut in line.
So there's a line of people waiting for something like waiting to go on a ride at the amusement park, and if someone cuts in line, it means that instead of going to the correct place at the end of the line to wait their turn, they enter in the middle of the line in front of other people who have been waiting longer.
Cutting in line is considered rude and unacceptable behavior.
If a student cuts class, it means they do not attend a class in which they are supposed to be present.
Maybe a rebellious teenager would cut class in order to go shopping with her friends instead.
So she's supposed to be in class, but she cuts class.
She doesn't go.
Finally, you'll sometimes hear the expression cut a check, which means to write or fill out a check.
That's a piece of paper that you can deposit in the bank to get money.
For example, if you spent some money while on a business trip and then you show your receipts to the company, the company will often cut a check, write a check to compensate you for those expenses.
It's typically a company or business that cuts a check.
If an individual person does it, we usually say write a check.
All right, now let's move on to some phrasal verbs.
You already learned that cut back and cut down are both used for reducing.
Cut down on fast food or cut back on expenses.
But there are several more.
A very common one is cut off, and this has several meanings.
First is the literal meaning, to separate something from something else by cutting.
So you would cut tags off of new clothes or cut the top off a carrot.
But cut off can also mean to turn off or stop supplying.
If you don't pay your electric bill, then the company will cut off your electricity.
It will turn it off or stop providing it.
Or let's say there are parents who are paying for their son's college education and also giving him spending money, but the son is partying a lot and not taking his studies seriously.
Then the parents might choose to cut him off, stop supplying him with money.
In the context of conversation, cut someone off means to interrupt them while talking.
For example, I was trying to explain the situation, but my manager kept cutting me off.
He kept interrupting by talking in the middle of my explanation.
The phrasal verb cut in also means to interrupt in a conversation.
Maybe I'm trying to have a talk with my friend, but my little sister always tries to cut in.
She tries to enter the conversation.
What's the difference between cut off and cut in, meaning to interrupt?
Cut in has more of the sense of entering a conversation by interrupting because the person wants to participate.
They want to be included.
And cut someone off has more of the sense of interrupting in order to stop another person from saying something or stop them from finishing their sentence.
To cut across means to go through an area so as to make your trip shorter.
For example, if you're on a bike, then instead of following the road around the park, you could cut across the park, go through it in order to get home faster.
A route that is a shorter one and saves time can be called a shortcut.
Now let's look at cut out.
This is also used in several different ways.
Cut out means to physically remove, so you can cut shapes out of paper.
If you cut somebody out of your life, it means you completely stop having a relationship with them.
You remove them from your life.
If your parents were abusive, then you might choose to cut them out of your life by refusing to see them or have any contact with them.
We also have the expression cut it out, which means stop doing that.
If your kids are being loud and noisy while you're trying to read a book, you could say cut it out.
Or if you kids don't cut it out, i'm going to send you to your rooms.
And another expression is saying that you're not cut out for something or not cut out to do something.
This means you don't have the type of skills or personality for that job or lifestyle.
So if you feel sick when you see blood, you could say I'm not cut out for a career in medicine.
Or if you can't stand kids, you could say I'm not cut out to be a parent.
Again, it means that job or that lifestyle wouldn't suit you.
You wouldn't be good at it.
You wouldn't enjoy it.
Okay, let's finish our lesson with some idioms.
Sometimes you'll hear something being described as a cut above everything else.
This means it is superior to other things in its category.
Maybe there are 10 candidates for a job, but one is a cut above the rest because she has an advanced degree.
She is better than, she is superior to the others.
One thing you probably shouldn't do is cut corners.
That means to save money or save effort by doing things in a cheaper or quicker way, which leads to a result or a product of lower quality.
So maybe you're building a table for a customer and you cut corners by using the cheapest wood, but then the table is weak and it breaks easily.
Or if you're writing an important article and you cut corners by just checking the facts briefly, without doing detailed research, that could result in errors in the article because you cut corners, you took the easier way to save time and effort and the result was something of inferior quality.
Another common expression is to cut your losses.
This describes when you've already put a lot of time, money and effort into a project, but it's not making progress, so you decide to stop.
Deciding to stop is cutting your losses.
Maybe you tried to start a business and you spent 10000 and two years buying supplies and advertising your products, but there aren't a lot of sales.
So you cut your losses.
You stop working on or investing in this failing project before you lose any more time or money.
A phrase you might hear in everyday English is that's cutting it close.
To cut it close means to do something very close to the time limit, so you're in danger of missing it.
For example, if you're traveling and you have a connection, you need to get off one airplane and transfer to another one and you only have 15 minutes to make the connection.
That's cutting it close.
You have very little time to get on the second plane before it leaves.
What does it mean when you're talking and someone asks you to cut to the chase?
That means they want you to hurry up and get to the point fast.
If you cut to the chase, you don't talk about extra details and you don't do any polite introductory conversation.
You just go right to the main point.
Let's say, your manager, who is very busy, calls a meeting of the team at work and he starts the meeting by saying I'll cut to the chase.
We're not getting good results and we need to improve.
He didn't make any introductory comments.
He didn't say a bunch of other things before.
He went directly to the main point.
That's what it means to cut to the chase.
I try to cut to the chase in my English lessons.
Get directly to the most important information that you need to know without a lot of extra stuff.
Our final expression is to have your work cut out for you.
This means you have a large and difficult task to do.
It can be used for any task.
Tasks at your job, projects at school, responsibilities at home, and so on.
Imagine you buy a house that's 100 years old and it's in pretty bad condition.
You're planning to renovate it, to repair it and make it new, but you have your work cut out for you.
That means the task is very big and challenging.
I would also say you have your work cut out for you when it comes to learning all these definitions.
It's not an easy task. but I hope the examples in this lesson have helped.
Make sure to do the exercise so that you can practice.
Thanks for watching and I'll see you in the next lesson.
Hello students!
Today is the final day of our mini course on words with multiple meanings, and I hope you've been enjoying it.
If you like my teaching style and you want to learn more, I suggest you check out my courses at EspressoEnglishnet.
Our multiple meaning word of the day is set.
The basic meaning is to physically put something in a position.
You can set a book on a table, set some boxes next to a desk, and so on.
Now in everyday English, it's more common to use put.
Put a book on a table and put some boxes next to a desk.
But there are three places where we always use set and not put to refer to putting things in position.
One is in the expression, set the table.
This means to prepare a table for a meal by putting plates napkins forks knives, spoons and glasses on it.
Another one is when a doctor sets a bone or sets a fracture.
This is when you break a bone and the two parts are out of place.
So the doctor needs to set the fracture, meaning to put the parts of the bone into place, into alignment so that they heal properly.
And the third one is, when talking about jewelry, usually about a stone being set in a surrounding of metal or other stones.
For example, this diamond is set, meaning placed, put, or located in a gold band.
Set can also mean to put something into a certain state.
A common example of this is to set something on fire or set fire to something.
You are putting it into the state of burning.
If you throw a cigarette into a pile of leaves, it would probably set the leaves on fire.
If someone sets fire to a house or building on purpose, that's a crime.
It's called arson.
Another expression is to set someone free, or set something free, meaning to make it free when it was previously trapped or restricted.
So maybe you managed to catch a mouse inside your house, but instead of killing it, you set it free outside.
Another expression is to set something in motion, which means to start a process and make it begin to move forward.
For example, after being elected, politicians try to set their plans in motion, put them into a state of moving forward.
We also use set for adjusting controls on a device.
So to set an alarm means to program your clock, watch or cell phone to sound an alarm at a certain time.
I usually set my alarm for 7.30 AM because that's when I like to get up.
Some houses or apartments have a thermostat to control the temperature.
If you set the thermostat to 70 degrees, you are adjusting the controls so that the system will maintain the house at that temperature.
On your phone or your computer, you'll often find a section called Settings.
This is where you can adjust the basic configurations of the device.
Set can be used for deciding on something, most typically a date.
When two people plan to get married, they would set a date for the wedding.
They'd decide that the wedding will be on July 10th, for example.
Sometimes set is also used for deciding on a rate or a price.
A store might set the price of a new product at 50, meaning they have decided to sell it at that price.
A similar, but slightly different, use of set is to establish.
We can see this in the following examples.
Set a record, meaning to establish a record.
She set a record for the fastest time swimming across the river.
Set a precedent means to establish an example that will serve as a reference for later cases.
If my daughter is crying and screaming for some candy and I give it to her, I am setting a precedent and she'll learn that she can get what she wants by crying and screaming, so she will use this strategy for future cases.
To set the agenda for a meeting or conference means to decide on the topics that will be addressed, as well as the schedule for covering them.
And we also have set a good example and set a bad example, meaning to establish an example of good or bad behavior that others will imitate.
A teacher would try to set a good example for the kids in her classroom by always being kind, so that the students would hopefully imitate that behavior.
If she yelled and cursed, that would be setting a bad example.
So set as a verb can mean to establish, and set as an adjective can describe something that is already fixed or established.
For example, a factory would have a set procedure for operating the machines.
It has an established procedure that does not typically change.
One idiom using set in this manner of being firmly fixed or established is saying he's set in his ways.
This describes someone who is not flexible, who is not open to change and new perspectives.
Instead, he's set in his ways.
He's firmly fixed or established in his current perspective and habits.
Set can also mean ready.
We typically use this in the expression all set.
For example, if you've prepared some paperwork for new employees who will be starting their jobs tomorrow and your boss asks you about it, you could say it's all set, meaning it's ready.
Or if you're going to watch a movie at home and your boyfriend first has to make popcorn and get a blanket and some drinks.
Once he's done preparing, he might say all set, meaning he is ready for the movie to start.
Set as a noun can mean a group of things, usually a group of things that are all the same or similar or that are all in one category.
So we call this a set of keys.
Those are all the same.
Or maybe you buy your father a set of tools for Christmas.
Different types, but they're all in the same category of tools.
A set of tools.
When talking about TV shows, movies and plays in the theater, set has two meanings.
As a noun, the set is the place where scenes of that show, movie, or play are acted and filmed.
So producers of shows and plays create a set using real or fake objects to give the impression of being in an area.
So the set is this physical group of objects and furniture and buildings used in TV or theater productions.
We can also use set as a verb to refer to the overall place in time where the story takes place.
For example, we can say the film is set in 17th century England, meaning the story happens in the 17th century in the country of England.
Or the show is set in modern day Chicago, meaning the location of the events is Chicago in the present time.
One simple and specific meaning of set that you probably already know is when the sun goes down below the horizon.
You could say, in the summer, the sun sets at 8pm.
The event of this happening is called sunset.
That's all one word.
For example, the beach party continued after sunset.
Let's move on to some phrasal verbs with set.
Set apart means to make something separate, noticeable, and distinct from all the others.
If you're considering various study programs and only one of those programs includes some interesting travel, you could say the travel is what sets this program apart from the others.
It makes you notice how it's distinct.
Set aside means something different.
To set something aside means to put something on the side because you are not using it at the moment or you will use it later.
This could be done physically.
For example, I set aside the hammer and reached for the screwdriver.
I put the hammer to one side because I'm not using it right now.
Or it could also be non-physical.
For example, I'm setting aside 5% of my paycheck every month because I'm saving up for a new bike.
So I'm putting 5 of my paycheck to the side and not using it right now, because I'll use that money later to buy a bike.
I'm setting the money aside.
We can also say things like we need to set aside our differences and work together, meaning we need to leave our different opinions to the side so that we can focus on cooperating.
If something sets you back, that means it delays you or it prevents the process from moving forward.
For example, if you are trying to finish a project and you need some information from a coworker, but that person is on vacation and not responding to emails.
That would set back the project, delay it.
The noun form setback.
All one word can be used to talk about an event or obstacle that prevents progress.
So if a professional soccer player breaks his leg, that would be a setback in his career.
It would stop his career from growing until his leg healed.
The phrasal verb set off can mean to begin a journey.
For example, we set off on the hike around 8 a.m., meaning we started hiking.
Set off is also used when something causes or triggers an event, especially an alarm or explosion.
So if a basketball hits a parked car, it might set off the car alarm.
Or a terrorist might set off a bomb, cause it to explode.
Saying that something sets you off is an informal way to say it makes you explode with anger.
For example, I didn't mind his criticism of my work, but when he insulted my character, that really set me off.
So it made me so angry that I exploded.
Maybe I yelled or cursed at him.
A very common phrasal verb is set up.
This most often means to assemble something or put it in a standing position so it's ready to use.
So when you go camping, you set up a tent.
After you knock down bowling pins, a machine sets them up.
It puts them in a standing position.
Or a third grade teacher might set up an activity for the kids in her class, meaning she assembles the supplies and prepares the objects by putting them in place so they're ready to use.
She sets up the activity.
As always, we'll finish up with some interesting idioms.
If you set your sights on something, it means you really want to do it and you make it your goal.
I could say, my daughter has set her sights on attending the best university in the country.
It's her goal.
Another way to talk about an intense desire is to say you have your heart set on the object or goal.
For example, I have my heart set on traveling to Paris for our anniversary.
Or you could say you're dead set on it, meaning you're very determined to do it.
I'm dead set on improving my English, so I signed up for three courses.
To set the stage for something means to prepare for that thing to happen or make it more likely that the thing will happen.
You could say, my parents' different religious views set the stage for their divorce.
So they had different opinions on religion and this prepared the way or contributed to their divorce happening.
Or the invention of smartphones set the stage for our culture of always being connected.
Set foot in a place is simply an informal way to talk about entering that place.
It's often, although not always, used in the negative form.
For example, I got food poisoning at that restaurant.
I'll never set foot in it again, meaning I'll never enter.
I'll never go there.
If something is not set in stone, it means it's not confirmed or final.
Let's say you're going on vacation and you have a few ideas about activities to do, but you're not 100 committed to them.
You could say, your plans for the trip aren't set in stone because they are not totally finalized.
There's still flexibility to change them.
Our final expression today is set the record straight.
And this means to correct a false fact or a misunderstanding.
Let's imagine you win a smaller amount of money in the lottery, like $1,000.
But then you hear some of your friends commenting that you must be a millionaire.
So you could say, let me set the record straight.
I'm not a millionaire.
I only won $1,000.
You are correcting the false belief that you're now super rich.
So you're setting the record straight.
We've now reached the end of this mini course.
Can you believe it?
In just five days, you've learned over a hundred different ways to use the words run get break, cut and set.
I know it's a lot of information to take in, so i'd recommend reviewing all the lessons to remind yourself of all those meanings, To continue learning.
You can keep following my free lessons by email or on YouTube, but if you have your heart set on becoming fluent in English, if you really want this, if it's your goal to become fluent, then one of the best ways is to join my courses at EspressoEnglishnet, because these free lessons are very helpful, but my courses are even more detailed and organized.
They will help you learn English effectively even if you have little time to study, and I have courses on all the different areas of the language.
Speaking, listening, vocabulary, grammar, phrasal verbs, and much, much more.
You can click on the link under this video to find out more about my courses and take free sample lessons as well.
I hope you enjoyed this mini course.
Thanks for joining me.
If you want more great English lessons, visit EspressoEnglishnet, where you can sign up by email to receive a free ebook with 500 plus real English phrases.
You'll also find online courses to help you improve your English fast, even if you don't have much time to study.
Keep practicing your English, and I hope you have a wonderful day!
