vocabulary

American  

[voh-kab-yuh-ler-ee] / voʊˈkæb jəˌlɛr i /

noun

• vocabularies
  plural

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. the words of a language.

4. any collection of signs or symbols constituting a means or system of nonverbal communication.

   vocabulary of a computer.

5. any more or less specific group of forms characteristic of an artist, a style of art, architecture, or the like.

---

vocabulary British  

/ vəˈkæbjʊlərɪ /

noun

1. a listing, either selective or exhaustive, containing the words and phrases of a language, with meanings or translations into another language; glossary

2. the aggregate of words in the use or comprehension of a specified person, class, profession, etc

3. all the words contained in a language

4. 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

• vocabularied
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• vocabularies
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vocabulary vocabularies

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

Now that term is barred from everyone’s vocabulary.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

In addition to field trips, there are also digital teaching resources about the attacks, such as "OOPA's World of Words," an online series of videos to build vocabulary and social literacy for younger readers.

From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026

Wells Fargo bank analyst Mike Mayo called the vocabulary Moynihan uses on calls an “intellectual flex” and said it was better to keep it simple.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

“So that I have the right vocabulary, so that I can keep up. He said I remind him of Grace—his sister.”

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

As they launched their campaign against the quarry, “vested rights” soon became an indelible part of their vocabularies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026

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

We read a lot, and we have great vocabularies as a result, but we don’t talk very much.

From "Liar, Liar" by Gary Paulsen

Related Words

• dictionary
• glossary
• jargon
• terminology