Phrases & Expressions

To be lively and crowded, with a lot of activity going on.

• Ten years ago the old port was almost abandoned, but today it is bustling with life, thanks to new restaurants, galleries and shops.
• The campus was bustling with new students looking for their lecture halls on the first day of term.

To be put into a particular group or category.

• Under the new rules, freelance translators are classed as self-employed workers for tax purposes.
• Buildings over a certain age can be classed as historic, which makes them difficult to demolish.

To be roughly equal to something else in size, amount, quality or importance.

• Salaries in the public sector are now comparable to those offered by many private companies.
• Our new flat is much smaller, but the rent is comparable to what we paid for our old house.

To be squeezed tightly into a place that cannot comfortably hold so many people or things.

• In some overcrowded prisons, three inmates are crammed into cells built for just one person.
• All my clothes were crammed into one small suitcase for the two-week trip.

To owe a very large amount of money.

• Many graduates are deeply in debt before they have even earned their first salary.
• The stress of being deeply in debt kept him awake at night until he finally asked a charity for advice.

To need technology so much that you cannot manage normally without it.

• Some teachers worry that students are becoming too dependent on technology to do basic calculations.
• Modern hospitals are so dependent on technology that a power cut can be extremely dangerous.

To have a particular person or group among your family's ancestors.

• Millions of Americans are descended from immigrants who arrived through Ellis Island in New York.
• My grandmother likes to claim that our family is descended from an Ottoman pasha, but nobody has ever found any proof.

To be extremely shocked and upset by something bad that has happened.

• The whole community was devastated by the closure of the factory, which had employed most local families.
• Farmers in the region were devastated by last summer's drought, which destroyed most of their crops.

To have the right to receive or do something because you meet the necessary conditions.

• At our local pharmacy, patients over sixty-five are eligible for a free flu vaccine every autumn.
• New employees will not be eligible for the company pension scheme until they have worked here for a year.

To be enjoyable and pleasant to spend time with.

• My grandmother is ninety, but she is still very good company and loves telling stories.
• A dog can be good company for elderly people who live alone and rarely have visitors.