English Vocabulary Hack: 15 words, 30 meanings!

Hi. I'm Rebecca from engVid. In this lesson, I'm  going to show you how one word can have multiple  

meanings. In particular, we'll look at situations  in which the verb and the noun with the same word  

is completely different. Okay? Now, this is  especially important for you if you're going  

to be appearing for any kind of exam, like the  IELTS or the TOEFL, if you're doing reading,  

if you're doing the listening section, or the  writing section, or the speaking section. Okay?  

But in particular, for reading and listening,  because perhaps when you look at a word, you  

think of it as having one meaning, but it might  actually have a completely different meaning. So  

I'm going to show you what... Some examples  of how that works. We're going to start off  

by looking at some very simple words, then we'll  look at some slang, and then we'll look at more  

advanced examples. But basically, the principle  is such that a verb and a noun sometimes have  

a completely different meaning, they're completely  different words, they're not just different forms  

of the word. Okay? So let's get started. So  let's look at a simple word, "box". Now, when  

I say "box", you might be thinking of the verb,  and you might be thinking of the noun, because  

they are very different. Right? So the "box" is  the sport, right? The sport, boxing. All right?  

So this is a verb, to box, but a "box" is also a  noun, like I received the package in a box. All  

right? So that... We can see that the noun and the  verb are completely different. Let's look at some  

other examples. "Light". So "light" as a verb, you  can light many things. You can light a candle with  

a match, you can light a cigarette. Right? Light  a fire. But "light" as a noun is, for example,  

the light bulb, the light switch. Right? A light  in your... In your home. Okay? So again, the verb  

and the noun, completely different. And if you  were doing a listening section in an exam and they  

said "light", you might get thrown off if you're  thinking of the verb, but they actually mean the  

noun, or the other way around. So you really have  to be aware of that. Okay? And be able to make  

that switch in your... In your understanding.  Let's look at the simple word "fly". Right? To  

fly a plane, to fly a kite. Okay? But "a fly", a  fly sat on the table. Okay? So "a fly" as a noun  

is very different from "fly" as a verb. Let's look  at another simple word, "park". So you park your  

car. Right? In the parking... A parking lot or  in a parking space. You park your car, but you  

could also go for a walk on a beautiful day in the  park. Right? Walk through the trees and go to the  

park. So the park can be a place or the park can  be an activity or a verb. So these are examples of  

four simple words. They're not always so simple.  Sometimes they're complex words; we're coming to  

those. Okay? But let's look at some slang words.  Not all forms of the words... Of these words are  

slang, but some. So "to hit" means, like, okay,  you hit somebody. Okay? Somebody hit someone. Or  

one car hit the other car. Okay? But "a hit"  as slang, when you say that movie was a hit,  

it means it was a big success. It became very  popular. That song was a hit. That show was a hit,  

and it means that something was very popular.  Okay? It became a big success. "Jam". "Jam" as  

a verb is what? Do you know the meaning? When we  say the musicians jammed, means informally they  

got together and they played and they improvised,  and they played together in an informal way. They  

jammed. Okay? Usually we talk about musicians  doing this. All right? They had a jam session. But  

"jam" as a noun, you might be familiar with. Maybe  you like to put some strawberry jam on your bread  

or on your toast. Okay? So that's a bottle of... A  jar of jam. All right? Next, "nail". So as a verb,  

you might nail your interview. What does it mean  to nail something? To nail something in slang  

means to do it very, very well; to ace it. You  might nail your interview, your job interview.  

You might nail a presentation. Okay? And you  say to somebody who did something very well,  

"Hey, you nailed it." Okay? You're using the verb.  All right? But "a nail" as a noun is that little  

silver metal thing that you hit with a hammer  into the wall. Okay? That's a nail. All right?  

That's what I tried to show you here. All right.  The verb "foot" as in a slang kind of expression,  

when we say to foot the bill. I'm going to foot  the bill for this. It means I'm going to take  

responsibility for paying the bill. I'm going  to pay for the bill. I'm going to pay for this  

meal or this event or whatever. "Who's footing the  bill?" means who's paying for this event. Okay? I  

don't know if you've heard that expression before;  it is used quite a bit. So, again, "foot" here was  

used as a verb in a very unusual way, and if you  heard that in a test or you read it somewhere,  

you might say, "What are they talking about? I  know only about foot." Like, here, one foot. Okay,  

usually we have two feet, but one foot. Okay? So  you might be thinking of this foot. Okay? Now,  

I've only shown you a verb and a noun, and  I've only shown you one version of the verb  

and one version of the noun. In some cases,  you'll... If you... When you look in the  

dictionary, you'll see that there are different  verb meanings. Okay? And different noun meanings.  

So what does that tell you? It tells you that if  you have an opportunity to open up a dictionary  

or go online and look at a dictionary, then it's  worth looking at all the meanings of a particular  

word. And sometimes you'll be surprised, like,  "Really? I can use this word in this way? I didn't  

know that." Okay. And usually in a dictionary,  an online dictionary or a regular dictionary,  

they'll give a sentence, an example with it. It's  a good opportunity for you to learn to use words  

which you already know, but in different ways.  Okay? That will expand your speaking vocabulary,  

and of course, as I said, if you're doing a  reading comprehension or something like...  

Or a listening comprehension on an exam,  it will be very, very useful. Okay? Now,  

let's look at some advanced words where the verbs  and the nouns are completely different. Okay,  

so let's start with our first advanced word, and  that word is "doctor". Now, you're saying to me,  

"Rebecca, that's not an advanced word. I know what  a doctor is. Everybody knows what a doctor is."  

Sure. Everybody knows what a doctor is as a noun.  Right? And what's a doctor? He or she is a medical  

professional. Sure, you know that meaning, but  did you know the meaning of "doctor" as a verb?  

It means to fake or falsify a document or a  report or a certificate or a photograph. That  

means to do something to it to make it look like  it's real, but it's actually not. To falsify it,  

to make it false, to fake it. Okay? That's the  meaning of the verb "to doctor" something. It's  

not a very positive word. This is a positive  word, that person helps a lot of people, but  

the verb is not a very positive. It doesn't have  a positive meaning. Okay? So that's how different  

a verb and a noun can be. All right? Let's take  another example. The word "stress". You might have  

heard this word because we often hear the noun.  Okay? And we hear the verb also. In this case,  

let's look at the noun first. When you feel  stress, you feel tension. Okay? Some people feel  

stress before an exam, or they feel stress before  a presentation, or they feel stress before a job  

interview, or they feel stress from life. And some  people never feel stress. They're always relaxed,  

no matter what's happening. Okay? But that's  "stress" as a noun, it's tension. But what does  

the verb "stress" mean? I would like to stress the  importance of backing up your computer files. It  

means to emphasize. I would like to stress this.  I would like to emphasize this. Okay? So here, in  

this lesson, I'm stressing that certain words have  multiple meanings, especially the verb and the  

noun sometimes. All right? Let's continue. "Head".  Now, what's a head? As a noun, this is my head.  

Right? It's a part of your body. It's your head.  Yes, that's the noun. But did you know we also  

use it as a verb? And very often in a business  context. He heads the marketing department. She  

heads the sales department. What does that suggest  to you? It means he or she leads that department.  

He or she manages that department. He or she  is in charge of, or is the top person in that  

department, in that division, in that company.  When we say that somebody heads something,  

it means that person is at the top of that  organization, or that department, or division,  

or whatever. Okay? So there you go. That's another  word where perhaps you are very familiar with the  

noun, but maybe you weren't as familiar with the  verb, but now you are. Okay? And you can keep  

doing that with lots and lots of words. Next...  The next one, "sentence". Now, as an ESL student,  

and as someone studying English, I'm sure you  know what a sentence is. For example, this is a  

sentence. Right? It's a set of words that start  with a capital letter, end with a period, they  

have a subject, there's a subject, there's a verb.  Right? This is a sentence. All right? So you know  

that one, but there's also a verb. "To sentence  someone". This is something that in case you watch  

a lot of crime dramas, you might have heard this  word, and it means to declare a punishment for  

someone who has legally been found guilty. Okay?  So, in court, right, they take somebody to court,  

and if that person is found guilty, then they have  to say what the punishment is. So when they say  

officially or declare what that punishment is,  then they use the verb "sentence", "to sentence  

somebody". So, for example, you might hear, "He  or she was sentenced to life imprisonment." Okay?  

So that was the punishment for a guilty person  for a crime that he or she committed. That's "to  

sentence someone". Let's look at another example.  "Foil". Now, here it has a verb... There's a verb  

and a noun. So what's the noun? Perhaps you've  used this material. Okay? It's shiny, it's  

silvery, it's a thin sheet of metal, kind of very  thin, and we use it when we're cooking, when we're  

baking. All right? "Aluminum foil". All right?  Have you seen it? You might have some at home.  

All right? So that's a thin sheet of metal that we  use very often at home. And the verb, however, is  

completely different. Okay? If you read superhero  comics and watch movies like that, you might have  

heard this word. Or if you watch crime dramas,  again. So, "to foil something" means to prevent a  

bad event from happening. For example, "The police  foiled the robbery." Or, "The authorities foiled  

the attacks." Okay? So, "to foil something"  means to prevent something bad, a bad event  

from happening. Okay? To prevent it before it  happens. "To foil it". All right? So there,  

you just added a nice advanced verb to  your vocabulary. All right. The next one,  

"to harbour" as a verb or as a noun? As a noun,  a harbour... What's a harbour? A harbour is a  

place where ships kind of park. Right? It's an  area... an area of water near the coast where  

ships are safe. Okay? And they wait there. Okay?  They're safe from... From other... Other ships  

and from other parts of the water. Okay? Waves  and things that might make... Harm them or hurt  

the ships in any way. Damage the ships. Okay?  So it's an area where ships are safe. This is  

called a harbour. But what does the verb "harbour"  mean? The verb "harbour" is something completely  

different. It's actually something negative.  It means to hide a person that's wanted by  

the police or by the authorities. If somebody is  hiding a criminal from the authorities or hiding  

a terrorist, that's called harbouring a criminal,  harbouring the robber, harbouring the terrorist.  

To hide somebody that is actually wanted by the  authorities. Okay? That means to harbour somebody.  

Completely different meaning. Right? So again, can  you imagine, like in your... In your exam, like a  

TOEFL exam or an IELTS exam, what would happen  if you come across this verb, and then they ask  

you what is the meaning of this word? Very often,  there is a section in your reading comprehension  

where they'll ask you about specific vocabulary,  and they love to choose words like this because  

they know that you know the normal kind of meaning  of the word. Sometimes the normal meaning of the  

word is the verb, and sometimes the normal meaning  or the popular meaning that most people know  

is the noun. But they're usually trying to go a  little bit deeper in reading comprehension exams  

and ask you the not-so-popular meaning of that  word. All right? Of an advanced word especially.  

So this kind of lesson will make you more aware of  the fact that some common words can have uncommon  

meanings as well. All right? Let's look at the  last one, season. So again, you might be familiar  

with the noun, right? Summer, spring, winter,  fall, these are the four seasons of the year. All  

right? You know those. But what does it mean to  season something? To season something means to add  

spices to food. Did you know that? Okay? You need  to season it with salt and pepper or hopefully  

more interesting spices. Okay? But basically  to season something means to add some spices  

to food. All right? So there, again, a completely  different meaning. So now, if you'd like to do a  

little quiz on this, please go to our website,  www.engvid.com. There you can look over some of  

these. Okay? And also check out lots of our other  lessons. We have more than a thousand lessons on  

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more quickly. Okay? Thanks very much for watching.  All the best with your English. Bye for now.