Phrases & Expressions

To lack recent information about something, so that your knowledge of it is no longer up to date.

• My grandparents don't use the internet, so they are quite out of touch with how young people communicate.
• After living abroad for ten years, I feel a bit out of touch with Turkish pop music.

To be very happy about something that has happened, especially a success.

• She was over the moon when she found out she had got a band 8 in IELTS.
• The coach said he was over the moon with the team's performance in the final.

To have got through the hardest or most painful stage of an illness or problem.

• Hospital staff believe the city is over the worst of the flu outbreak, as new cases are finally falling.
• Economists believe the country is over the worst of the recession, but recovery will be slow.

To be likely to suffer from something bad, such as a natural disaster, illness or problem.

• Coastal cities that are prone to flooding will need to invest heavily in sea defences.
• Young children are prone to ear infections, especially during the winter months.

To be called by a particular name or described with a particular term.

• What used to be referred to as 'the developing world' is now often called 'the Global South'.
• In this essay, the period before the internet will be referred to as the 'pre-digital era'.

To be found here and there in many different parts of a place, not grouped together.

• The company's offices are scattered across the country, so most meetings now take place online.
• My cousins are scattered across three continents, so we only see each other at weddings.

To be shown to be true or effective through careful research and experiments.

• Many creams claim to slow down ageing, but very few are scientifically proven to work.
• Before you believe a health claim in an advert, check whether it has been scientifically proven.

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 so much work to do that you can hardly deal with it.

• Teachers are snowed under with marking at the end of every term.
• The accounts team has been snowed under with work since the new tax rules came in.