Phrases & Expressions

Of traffic or a vehicle, to move forward extremely slowly.

• During the morning commute, cars on the main road crawl along at less than ten kilometres an hour.
• We crawled along the motorway for two hours because of an accident near the airport.

To accept a person's opinion or decision rather than your own, out of respect for that person's knowledge, experience or authority.

• I will defer to your judgment on this important financial matter.
• The committee decided to defer to the expert's final recommendation.

To arrive somewhere in such large numbers that it is difficult to deal with them.

• When the tech companies opened new offices, young graduates flooded into the city looking for work.
• Within minutes of the sale starting, shoppers flooded into the store and emptied the shelves.

To produce something such as heat, light, a smell, or a gas into the surrounding area.

• The burning plastic gave off a strong chemical smell.
• These energy-saving bulbs give off very little heat.

To keep talking about something for a long time in a boring or annoying way.

• My uncle always goes on about how cheap houses were when he was young.
• The lecturer went on about referencing rules for an hour, and half the class stopped listening.

To get into someone else's computer system or account without permission, breaking the law.

• Criminals hacked into the hospital's computer system and demanded money to unlock patient records.
• Someone hacked into my email account and sent strange messages to all my contacts.

To search hard for something, often for a long time.

• Reporters spent weeks hunting for evidence that the factory had been polluting the river.
• As a junior reporter, she was always hunting for unusual local stories to impress her editor.

To study a particular subject as the main part of your university degree, especially in the US.

• Many American universities allow students to wait until their second year before deciding what to major in.
• Students who major in engineering usually find well-paid jobs soon after they graduate.

Of people, to enter a place in very large numbers without stopping.

• Volunteers poured into the town after the earthquake to help clear the rubble and hand out food.
• Every summer, tourists pour into the old city, and the narrow streets become almost impossible to walk through.

To control or limit someone or something that is growing too fast or moving too freely.

• The government needs to rein in public spending this year.
• She had to rein in her spending after buying a new car.