condominium (CN) /ˌkɒn.dəˈmɪn.i.əm/
an apartment building in which each apartment is owned seperately by the people living in it, but also containing shared areas.
durable (adj) /ˈdʒʊə.rə.bəl/
[ LAST FOR A LONG TIME] able to last a long time without becoming damaged:
The machines have to be made of durable materials.
maintenance (UN) /ˈmeɪn.tən.əns/
the work needed to keep a road, building, machine, etc. in good condition:
Old houses need a lot of maintenance.
slum (CN) /slʌm/
a very poor and crowded area, especially of a city:
She was brought up in the slums of Lima.
to abandon /əˈbæn.dən/
[LEAVE] to leave a place, thing, or person, usually for ever:
We had to abandon the car.
abandoned (adj) /əˈbæn.dənd/
An abandoned baby was found in a box on the hospital steps.
abandonment (UN) /əˈbæn.dən.mənt/
The abandonment of the island followed nuclear tests in the area.
to hollow sth out /ˈhɒl.əʊ/
to make an empty space inside sth:
Sand carried by the wind has hollowed out the base of the cliff.
minority (n) /maɪˈnɒr.ə.ti/
a smaller number or part:
It’s only a tiny minority of people who are causing the problem
bribe (CN) /braɪb/
money or a present that you give to somone so that they will do sth for you, usually sth dishonest:
He was accused of accepting/taking bribes from wealthy businessmen.
bribery (UN) /ˈbraɪ.bər.i/
The organization was rife with bribery and corruption.
to bribe /braɪb/
to try to make someone do sth for you by giving else that they want:
He bribed immigration officials and entered the country illegally.
to disguise /dɪsˈɡaɪz/
to give a new appearance to a person or thing, especially in order to hide its true form:
He disguised himself by wearing a false bread.
to bid /bɪd/
to offer a particular amount of money for something that is for sale and compete against other people to buy it, especially at a public sale of goods or property:
She knew she couldn’t afford it, so she didn’t bid.
to scrunch /skrʌntʃ/
[MAKE SMALL] to make sth or yourself smaller to fit into a small space:
The cat was hiding, scrunched up under the sofa.
to misallocate /mɪsˈaləkeɪt/
fail to allocate (sth) efficiently or fairly:
Monopoly is said to misallocate resources through the restriction of output.
jargon (UN) /ˈdʒɑː.ɡən/ usually disapproving
special words and phrases that are used by particular groups of people, especially in their work:
military/legal/computer jargon
terminology (n) /ˌtɜː.mɪˈnɒl.ə.dʒi/
special words or expressions used in relation to a particular subject or activity:
scientific terminology
to sublease /ˌsʌbˈliːs/
to allow someone to rent all or part of a building that you are renting from someone else, or to rent somewhere in this way:
sublease sth from/to sth/sb. One end is a minimal, with space subleased to a variety of business.
better off (adj) /ˈbet.ər ˌɒf/
be better off: to be in a better situation, if or after sth happens:
He’d be better off working for a bigger company.