vocabulary
Americannoun
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vocabularies
plural
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the stock of words used by or known to a particular people or group of persons.
His French vocabulary is rather limited. The scientific vocabulary is constantly growing.
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a list or collection of the words or phrases of a language, technical field, etc., usually arranged in alphabetical order and defined.
Study the vocabulary in the fourth chapter.
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the words of a language.
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any collection of signs or symbols constituting a means or system of nonverbal communication.
vocabulary of a computer.
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any more or less specific group of forms characteristic of an artist, a style of art, architecture, or the like.
noun
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a listing, either selective or exhaustive, containing the words and phrases of a language, with meanings or translations into another language; glossary
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the aggregate of words in the use or comprehension of a specified person, class, profession, etc
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all the words contained in a language
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a range or system of symbols, qualities, or techniques constituting a means of communication or expression, as any of the arts or crafts
a wide vocabulary of textures and colours
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of vocabulary
1525–35; < Medieval Latin vocābulārium, noun use of neuter of vocābulārius of words, equivalent to Latin vocābul ( um ) vocable + -ārius -ary
Explanation
Vocabulary is all about words — the words in a language or a special set of words you are trying to learn. Vocabulary is so important, we even created a web site to help expand yours. First used in the 1500s to mean a list of words with explanations, the noun vocabulary came to refer to the “range of language of a person or group” about two hundred years later. A lot of hobbies, like fishing or knitting, require that you learn their unique vocabulary before you can get the most out of them. If you're in a rush, vocab is a faster way to say vocabulary.
Vocabulary lists containing vocabulary
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Dictionary Words: Lexicography Lingo
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Narrative Writing, List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"These are minutes drawn up by notaries who abbreviate their decisions. The script is highly administrative, very pragmatic... with rather technical vocabulary," said historian Julie Claustre, who leads the e-NDP project.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
The cycle has closed with almost insulting neatness: a new intervention, a new moral vocabulary, a new consumer workaround — and Cartman, once again, looking for a way to change without changing very much.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
Marketers are borrowing the vocabulary more readily than they are embracing some of the people who popularized it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Sean “Jack” Murphy has been choreographing for “Bridgerton” since the beginning, crafting the physical vocabulary of the characters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
Duane sometimes had difficulty understanding the musk ox, who once explained that his formal education gave him an expansive vocabulary.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
In totalitarian regimes, censored vocabularies create the illusion of consensus and the impossibility of dissent.
From Salon ● May 3, 2025
Toossi’s script handles this duality elegantly: The actors speak unaccented, colloquial English when they’re speaking Farsi; when they’re speaking English, their vocabularies scale back, and syntax becomes stilted, indefinite articles get forgotten.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 8, 2024
The brainy birds can learn to recognize colors and shapes, manipulate objects, build large vocabularies and make their needs known at improbably high volumes.
From New York Times ● Mar. 20, 2024
On average, children with several ear infections before three years of age had smaller vocabularies and a harder time matching similar sounding words than children with few or no ear infections.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 3, 2024
They were better educated and their larger vocabularies shamed him.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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