Economics & Finance
Economics & Finance — 20 high-frequency words, with pronunciation, collocations, word traps and four interactive exercises.
📌 Contents
🎯 Lesson goal
Understand the Financial Times without a dictionary 📈. Twenty macroeconomic terms and the right verbs to describe a trend (soar, plummet, level off): exactly the language you need to describe a graph in IELTS Writing Part 1. 🚀
🗂️ Word Bank
Tap 🔊 to hear the British pronunciation. The IPA transcription is under each word.
📖 Words in context
Describing a graph without repeating yourself · tap a highlighted word to hear it.
Between 2021 and 2023 the figures tell a familiar story. Consumer inflation began to soar in the second quarter, driven by energy costs and by a mismatch between supply and demand after the pandemic.
The central bank responded by raising the interest rate five times in eighteen months. Borrowing became expensive, investor confidence weakened, shares in construction firms began to plummet, and growth in gross domestic product slowed almost to zero. Analysts began to use the word recession.
By late 2023 the curve started to level off. Yet the recovery was uneven: real purchasing power remained below its 2020 level, the budget deficit was still widening, and public debt had reached a historic high. The government faced the usual choice between austerity and stimulus, and chose a cautious mixture of both. The latest forecast describes the outlook as stable but volatile — which, in the language of economists, means nobody knows.
🔗 Collocations & chunks
Words travel in groups: learn the whole chunk, not just one word.
| Chunk / collocation | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a sharp rise in | a big, fast increase in | There was a sharp rise in energy prices. |
| a steady decline | a slow fall that does not stop | The chart shows a steady decline. |
| peak at | to reach the highest level | Prices peaked at €4.20 in August. |
| bounce back | to recover after a fall | The market bounced back in spring. |
| cut interest rates | to lower the cost of borrowing | The bank cut interest rates twice. |
| in real terms | after allowing for inflation | Wages fell in real terms. |
⚠️ Word traps to avoid
| English word | Real meaning ✅ | Watch out ❌ |
|---|---|---|
| actual | real, what is true in fact | Not the same as “current” |
| rent | money paid to use a flat or house | not income from an investment: that is return or yield |
| factory | a building where goods are made | not a place with animals and crops: that is a farm |
| delusion | a false belief | not a feeling of sadness when things go badly: that is disappointment |
🎚️ Register: when to use them
| Expression | Register | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| The economy's a mess. | informal | conversation, never in a report |
| Growth has slowed. | neutral | journalism and everyday use |
| Output contracted by 0.3 per cent. | technical | economic bulletins and reports |
| The outlook remains subject to considerable uncertainty. | formal | official documents, central banks |
🚫 Common mistakes to avoid
| Mistake ❌ | Correct ✅ |
|---|---|
| The prices are augmented. | Prices have risen / increased. |
| The economy is in crisis since 2020. | The economy has been in crisis since 2020. |
| I have invested in actions. | I invested in shares. |
| The graphic shows a growth. | The graph shows an increase. |
🎮 Vocabulary gym
Four ways to practise the same 20 words. Your progress is saved on this device.
Tap the card to flip it.
Tap an English word, then its meaning. Eight pairs per round.
Complete the ten sentences with the right word. The clue under each sentence will help you.
- reached six per cent in June.💡 a general rise in prices
- The country entered a technical .💡 a period when the economy gets smaller
- grew by 0.4 per cent.💡 the total value of goods and services a country produces
- The central bank raised the again.💡 the percentage charged for borrowing money
- Prices are set by .💡 how much is for sale and how much people want
- Their fell eight per cent overnight.💡 small parts of a company that people can own
- Every reacted to the announcement.💡 a person who puts money in to make a profit
- Property remains their main .💡 something valuable that you own
- Public exceeded 140 per cent of GDP.💡 money that is owed
- The budget widened sharply.💡 when spending is larger than income