vocabulary

vo|cab|u|la|ry [vəˈkæbjuləri, vəu- US -leri, vou-] n plural vocabularies

[Date: 1500-1600; : French; Origin: vocabulaire, from Medieval Latin vocabularium, from Latin vocabulum 'word, name', from vocare; VOCATION]

1.) [U and C]

all the words that someone knows or uses

▪ Reading is one of the best ways of improving your vocabulary.

▪ He has a wide vocabulary .

active vocabulary

(=the words someone can use)

passive vocabulary

(=the words someone can understand, but does not use)

2.)

all the words in a particular language

▪ English has the largest vocabulary of any language.

3.) [U and C]

the words that are typically used when talking about a particular subject

▪ Most technical jobs use a specialized vocabulary.

vocabulary of

▪ the vocabulary of politics

4.) [U and C]

the range of possible features, effects, actions etc, especially in a type of music or art

vocabulary of

▪ Charlie Parker expanded the vocabulary of jazz.

5.) (the word) failure/guilt/compromise etc is not in sb's vocabulary

used to say that someone never thinks of accepting failure etc

6.) old-fashioned a list of words with explanations of their meanings, especially in a book for learning a foreign language