Phrases & Expressions

Fashionable right now, especially in clothes, colours or design.

• The café's interior, with its plants and bare brick walls, feels very on trend for a young audience.
• Wide-leg trousers are very on trend this season, so the high street shops are full of them.

An official examination of a matter that has already started and is still continuing.

• The police refused to comment on the case because of an ongoing investigation into the fire.
• Two players were suspended by the club as part of an ongoing investigation into illegal betting.

A friendly, confident character that makes it easy for someone to meet and talk to new people.

• Sales and customer service jobs usually suit people with an outgoing personality who enjoy meeting strangers.
• My sister has such an outgoing personality that she made friends on her very first day at university.

To deal successfully with something that is preventing you from making progress.

• Many refugees have to overcome huge obstacles, such as language barriers, before they can find work.
• With her coach's help, she overcame an obstacle that had held her back for years: her fear of failure.

Having to work too hard while receiving too little money for it.

• Being overworked and underpaid for years eventually led her to leave nursing and retrain as a teacher.
• When I asked my brother about his new job, he just laughed and said he was overworked and underpaid.

To march or walk together through a town as part of a public celebration.

• The town's brass band will parade through the streets at noon, so several roads in the centre will be closed.
• After winning the cup, the team paraded through the streets on an open-top bus, cheered by thousands of fans.

To let a company collect what you owe straight from your account whenever a payment is due.

• The charity asks supporters to pay their monthly donation by direct debit so that it can plan ahead.
• Since I started paying my phone bill by direct debit, I've never been charged a late fee.

A difficulty that keeps coming back or refuses to go away despite efforts to solve it.

• Traffic congestion remains a persistent problem in most large cities despite new metro lines.
• Truancy has become a persistent problem at the school, and teachers are struggling to deal with it.

To be extremely important in making something happen or succeed.

• Teachers play a crucial role in helping children develop confidence and social skills.
• Bees play a crucial role in food production because they pollinate many of the crops we eat.

To represent or describe someone in a particular way in a book, film, painting or the media.

• Older people are often portrayed as lonely and helpless in television adverts.
• The novel portrays its heroine as a brave woman who challenges the rules of her society.