Morning Grooming — A1 Essential Words
Ten essential A1 words (Daily Life) with the complete apparatus: pronunciation, simple definitions, natural American examples, collocations, family, the common mistake and spoken usage — plus a 15-question practice quiz. Mark your status on every word.
comb /kəʊm/ noun / verb A1 Daily Life
Meaning: A flat tool with teeth used to make hair neat and tidy; to use such a tool on your hair.
Example: He combed his hair before school.
Another example: Her comb is pink.
Collocations: comb your hair · a comb and brush · comb it flat
Synonyms: brush (softer tool)
Word family: combs (n pl) · comb (v)
⚠ Common mistake: The B is silent: KOHM. Combs tidy; BRUSHES style — hairdressers own ten of each.
🗣 In spoken American English: Lost combs live in every couch on Earth.
Register: Neutral — daily routine essential.
toothbrush /ˈtuːθbrʌʃ/ noun A1 Daily Life
Meaning: A small brush with a long handle, used to clean your teeth.
Example: Brush your teeth with a toothbrush twice a day.
Another example: He bought a blue toothbrush.
Collocations: a new toothbrush · toothbrush and toothpaste · electric toothbrush
Synonyms:
Word family: toothbrushes (n pl) · brush your teeth (v phrase)
⚠ Common mistake: Dentists say change it every three months — the calendar's quietest rule.
🗣 In spoken American English: Hotels rescue guests who forgot theirs in tiny paper boxes.
Register: Neutral — hygiene essential.
toothpaste /ˈtuːθpeɪst/ noun A1 Daily Life
Meaning: A soft, thick substance put on a toothbrush to clean teeth and make breath fresh.
Example: Put a little toothpaste on the brush.
Another example: Mint toothpaste tastes fresh.
Collocations: toothpaste tube · toothpaste on the brush · mint toothpaste
Synonyms: paste
Word family: toothpaste (uncountable)
⚠ Common mistake: You need a pea-sized amount, not the ribbon in commercials — dentists expose the ad trick every year.
🗣 In spoken American English: Kids eat the bubble-gum flavor straight from the tube.
Register: Neutral — hygiene essential.
razor /ˈreɪzər/ noun A1 Daily Life
Meaning: A tool with a sharp blade for removing hair from the skin, especially from the face and legs.
Example: He shaves with an electric razor.
Another example: Be careful with the razor — it is sharp.
Collocations: an electric razor · razor blade · shave with a razor
Synonyms: shaver
Word family: razors (n pl) · razor-sharp (adj)
⚠ Common mistake: 'Razor-sharp' describes minds and wit as well as blades. Barbers still use the straight kind with theatrical skill.
🗣 In spoken American English: Airport security's most confiscated morning tool.
Register: Neutral — grooming essential.
shower /ˈʃaʊər/ noun / verb A1 Daily Life
Meaning: A device that sprays water over your body for washing; the act of washing this way. Also, a short period of rain, or a party for a future mother or bride.
Example: I take a shower every morning.
Another example: The shower water is cold.
Collocations: take a shower · a hot shower · shower and dress
Synonyms: wash (standing), rinse
Word family: showers (n pl) · shower (v)
⚠ Common mistake: 'Baby shower' is a gift party, not hygiene — the verb 'to shower with gifts' explains the name.
🗣 In spoken American English: Singing in it is a national art form.
Register: Neutral — daily routine essential.
bath /bɑːθ/ noun A1 Daily Life
Meaning: The act of washing your body while sitting in a large container of water; the container itself (American: bathtub).
Example: The baby loves her evening bath.
Another example: He filled the bath with warm water.
Collocations: take a bath · a hot bath · bath time
Synonyms: soak (relaxing, long), shower (standing twin)
Word family: baths (n pl) · bathtub (n) · bathroom (n)
⚠ Common mistake: American kitchens of language: you take a SHOWER standing and a BATH sitting. The room is the bathroom either way in US homes.
🗣 In spoken American English: Rubber ducks are its official mascots since childhood.
Register: Neutral — daily routine essential.
sink /sɪŋk/ noun A1 Daily Life
Meaning: A fixed bowl with taps in a kitchen or bathroom, used for washing dishes and hands; as a verb, to go down below the surface of water.
Example: Wash the cups in the sink.
Another example: The boat sank in the storm.
Collocations: in the sink · kitchen sink · sink or swim
Synonyms: basin, washbasin
Antonyms: float (verb opposite)
Word family: sinks (n pl) · sank (past) · sunk (participle)
⚠ Common mistake: One word, two worlds: the kitchen bowl and the Titanic verb. 'Everything but the kitchen sink' means absolutely everything.
🗣 In spoken American English: Dishes multiply in it overnight by mysterious law.
Register: Neutral — home essential.
wash /wɒʃ/ verb A1 Daily Life
Meaning: To clean something with water (and usually soap).
Example: Wash your hands before dinner.
Another example: She washed the car on Sunday.
Collocations: wash your hands · wash the dishes · wash with soap
Synonyms: clean, rinse, scrub
Antonyms: dirty
Word family: washes (v) · washing (n) · washed (adj)
⚠ Common mistake: 'Wash up' in the US means hands and face; in the UK it means dishes — travelers, beware the helpful offer.
🗣 In spoken American English: Hand-washing's twenty seconds became the world's most repeated health tip.
Register: Neutral — hygiene essential.
shave /ʃeɪv/ verb A1 Daily Life
Meaning: To remove hair from the skin with a razor, cutting it very close to the surface.
Example: He shaves every morning.
Another example: She shaved her legs before the beach.
Collocations: shave every day · shave with · a close shave
Synonyms: trim (longer result), cut
Antonyms: grow (a beard)
Word family: shaves (v) · shaving (n) · shave (n — as in 'a close shave')
⚠ Common mistake: 'A close shave' also means a narrow escape from danger — both miss by millimeters.
🗣 In spoken American English: Barbershops turned it into theater with hot towels.
Register: Neutral — grooming essential.
gel /dʒel/ noun A1 Daily Life
Meaning: A thick, soft, jelly-like substance — used in hair to hold a style, or in showers as soap.
Example: He puts gel in his hair.
Another example: Shower gel smells like oranges.
Collocations: hair gel · shower gel · gel pen
Synonyms: jelly, cream, lotion
Word family: gels (n pl)
⚠ Common mistake: Gel holds hair in shapes gravity hates. Its cousin 'gel pen' writes in glossy ink.
🗣 In spoken American English: Nineties hairstyles ran on it by the tub.
Register: Neutral — grooming basics.
Practice — Morning Grooming
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