Stick around means to stay in a place for a while longer than expected, often because something useful may follow. To use stick around in a sentence, put it after the subject and add a… Read More »Stick Around in a Sentence: Meaning, Examples & Practice
To push over is to make something or someone fall by pushing. In a sentence the verb is transitive and separable: you can push over a stack of boxes or push a stack of boxes… Read More »Push Over in a Sentence: Meaning, Uses & Examples
To black out is to lose consciousness briefly, to switch off or cover every light, or to hide text so it cannot be read. The verb splits around its object in the lighting and censoring… Read More »Black Out in a Sentence: Meaning, Uses & Examples
Strategy vs stratagem is a difference of scale and intent: use strategy for an overall long-term plan and stratagem for a single cunning trick that outwits an opponent. A strategy guides many moves in the… Read More »Strategy vs Stratagem: Meaning and When to Use Each
Yerk vs jerk comes down to one rule: use jerk in modern standard English and reserve yerk for dialect or deliberately old-fashioned prose. Both verbs describe a sudden sharp pull or movement, but jerk is… Read More »Yerk vs Jerk: Which Word Should You Use?
Calculated means planned in advance to achieve a particular effect, and it also serves as the past form of calculate when a figure has been worked out. To use calculated in a sentence, attach it… Read More »Calculated in a Sentence: Meaning, Examples & Practice
Stake out means either to mark and claim an area or position, or to keep a secret watch on a place or person. To use stake out in a sentence, put the object after the… Read More »Stake Out in a Sentence: Meaning, Examples & Practice
Vote down means to reject or defeat a proposal, motion or candidate by majority vote. To use vote down in a sentence, put the item either after the particle, as in “The council voted down… Read More »Vote Down in a Sentence: Meaning, Examples & Practice
Drill down is an intransitive phrasal verb meaning to move from a broad view to the smallest details. To use drill down in a sentence, give it a preposition and a target: “We drilled down… Read More »Drill Down in a Sentence: Meaning & Examples
Hide away means to keep someone or something out of sight, or to go somewhere quiet to be alone. Use hide away with an object you are storing, as in she hid the letters away,… Read More »Hide Away in a Sentence: Meaning, Forms & Examples
To get round to something is to finally find the time for a task you had been putting off. Use get round to before a noun or an -ing verb: “I finally got round to… Read More »Get Round To in a Sentence: Meaning & Examples
Xylol vs xylene is not a contest between two chemicals: they are two names for the same aromatic solvent, and xylene is the name to use in scientific and technical writing. Keep xylol for older… Read More »Xylol vs Xylene: Are They the Same Solvent?
Exhume means to dig up something that was buried, most often a body, and by extension to revive a fact or dispute that had been laid to rest. To use exhume in a sentence, name… Read More »Exhume in a Sentence: Meaning, Forms & Examples
Scale back means to reduce the size, scope or amount of something, usually a plan, budget or operation. To use scale back in a sentence, put the thing being reduced as the object: “The council… Read More »Scale Back in a Sentence: Meaning, Forms & Examples
Diaphanous describes a material that is light, delicate and softly see-through, the quality of gauze, thin silk or a butterfly wing. To use diaphanous in a sentence, place it before the noun it describes: “a… Read More »Diaphanous in a Sentence: Meaning, Examples & Practice
An avocation is a hobby or minor occupation that a person pursues for pleasure, in contrast to the vocation that pays the bills. To use avocation in a sentence, treat it as a countable noun… Read More »Avocation in a Sentence: Meaning, Examples & Practice