NOUN
A company is a business that sells goods or provides a service.
business
My father runs an electrical business.
corporation
Mrs Fletcher’s tiny company belongs to a huge global corporation.
firm
Mum’s firm is paying for her to go on a management course.
competition NOUN
A competition is an event in which people take part to find out who is the best at something.
championship
Wimbledon is a famous tennis championship.
contest
The two villages faced each other in a tug-of-war contest.
event
The Olympic Games is the world’s leading sporting event.
tournament
Our school entered two teams in the Under-11 netball tournament.
complain VERB
If you complain, you say that you are not happy about something.
bleat
Sam kept bleating that he had lost his pen.
fuss
The customer was fussing over a minute mark on the desk.
grouse
“It’s no good grousing now. You had your chance and didn’t take it,” said Gran.
grumble
Mum always grumbles about the dreadful state of my room.
moan
All my big sister ever does is moan!
whinge
The millionaire rock star was always whingeing about how unfair life is.
complete (1) ADJECTIVE
If something is complete, none of it is missing.
entire
At the end, the entire cast took a bow.
full
“Pay me the full amount now,” the greedy landlord insisted.
whole
“I swear to tell the whole truth,” the witness declared to the court.
complete (2) ADJECTIVE
Complete can mean to the greatest degree possible.
absolute
“You’re talking absolute rubbish,” the major replied to the private.
sheer
The winning jockey leapt off his horse in sheer joy.
thorough
The disobedient little girl made a thorough nuisance of herself.
utter
Chander felt an utter fool dressed as a clown.
complete (3) VERB
If you complete something, you finish it.
conclude
Professor Boffin concluded his talk and then asked if there were any questions.
end
The crowd was in tears as he ended his speech.
finalize
The airline staff finalized arrangements for the plane to take off.
finish
When Gran had finished her tea she turned on the radio.
round off
We rounded off our day out with a delicious meal in a steakhouse.
wrap up INFORMAL
“OK, darlings, we’ll wrap it up for today,” the film director announced.
ANTONYM: begin
completely ADVERB
Completely can mean totally, absolutely and utterly.
absolutely
By the end of the sponsored swim, Kalil was absolutely exhausted.
entirely
“I entirely agree with you,” put in Kaylee.
fully
The new manager said he was fully committed to the club and the team.
totally
Fire totally destroyed the pier buildings.
utterly
You could see by the expression on her face that Isha was utterly fed up.
complicated ADJECTIVE
Something that is complicated has so many parts or aspects that it is difficult to understand or deal with.
complex
It was a complex engine, which my brother struggled to understand.
elaborate
Blofeld had spent years on an elaborate plan for world domination.
intricate
Clock mechanisms are too intricate for you or me to tamper with.
ANTONYMS: simple or straightforward
computer NOUN
A computer is an electronic machine that can store and deal with large amounts of information.
Some types of computer:
desktop
iPad™
laptop
Mac™
notebook
PC (personal computer)
tablet
concentrate VERB
If you concentrate on something, you give it all your attention.
apply yourself to
Previously lazy, Watkins now applied himself to his work and did well in the exam.
be engrossed in
My sister was so engrossed in some telly programme, she failed to see me sneaking up.
focus on
“Today, we are going to focus on fractions,” Mrs Abrahams said, to a chorus of groans.
pay attention to
“Pay attention to what I’m saying, Jamie,” said Dani. “It’s important.”
condition NOUN
The condition of someone or something is the state they are in.
fitness
Army doctors examine the fitness of soldiers each year.
order
The television was in good working order when we sold it.
shape
My grandad is in pretty good shape for a man of 75 – he still goes for a run every morning.
state
“Just look at the state of your trousers!” my stepmum sighed.
confess VERB
If you confess to something, you admit that you did it.
admit
After questioning, the suspect admitted she had stolen the bag.
come clean INFORMAL