Phrases & Expressions

To work for yourself and run your own business instead of being employed by a company.

• People who are self-employed often find it harder to get a mortgage because their income is irregular.
• Being self-employed gives you freedom, but you also have to find your own clients and pay your own taxes.

To be strongly influenced in your development or character by particular events or experiences.

• Our attitudes to money are shaped by the way our parents spent and saved when we were young.
• The main character's personality is shaped by the hardships she faces during the war.

To have a particular group of people working in a place or organisation.

• The student helpline is staffed by trained volunteers twenty-four hours a day.
• In remote areas, small clinics are often staffed by just one nurse and a part-time doctor.

To have an office job that keeps you inside and seated for most of the day.

• I became a park ranger because I couldn't bear the thought of being stuck behind a desk.
• Promotion means more money, but it also means I'll be stuck behind a desk instead of visiting clients.

To be better in quality than something else.

• Many readers believe that printed books are superior to e-books for deep, focused reading.
• The new model's camera is far superior to anything else on the market at this price.

To believe that certain things bring good or bad luck, without any logical reason.

• Many hotels have no room 13 because some guests are superstitious about that number.
• Professional footballers are often superstitious about what they wear or eat on match days.

To accept other people's beliefs or behaviour even when you disagree with them.

• Living abroad made me much more tolerant of different customs and religious beliefs.
• A healthy democracy needs citizens who are tolerant of opinions they strongly disagree with.

To be covered by a manufacturer's promise to fix or exchange a faulty product free of charge.

• Keep your receipt, because the TV is under guarantee for two years from the date of purchase.
• Before paying for repairs, check whether your washing machine is still under guarantee.

To disappear completely so that no members of a species are still alive.

• The museum's new exhibition looks at animals that have become extinct, from mammoths to the passenger pigeon.
• Many island birds have become extinct since humans introduced rats and cats to their islands.

A person or organisation that competes fiercely with another and feels strong dislike for them.

• The two neighbouring football clubs have been bitter rivals for over a century, and their matches are often tense.
• Competition for the same small market has turned the two firms into bitter rivals.