Work & Skills — B1 Essential Words

teamwork /ˈtiːmwɜːrk/ noun B1 Work

Meaning: The ability and effort of people working together well as a group to achieve something.

Example: Good teamwork won the project.

Another example: Sports teach teamwork to children.

Collocations: good teamwork · teamwork skills · teamwork and communication

Synonyms: collaboration, cooperation, togetherness

Antonyms: individualism, conflict

Word family: team (n) · teammate (n)

⚠ Common mistake: Teamwork is uncountable — a quality, not a thing. Job ads ask for it in every industry.

🗣 In spoken American English: 'Teamwork makes the dream work' is the office rhyme nobody escapes.

Register: Neutral — work essential.

leadership /ˈliːdərʃɪp/ noun B1 Work

Meaning: The ability to lead a group; the position of being a leader; the qualities a good leader has.

Example: Her leadership saved the company.

Another example: The course builds leadership skills.

Collocations: leadership skills · leadership role · under her leadership

Synonyms: guidance, management, direction

Antonyms: followership

Word family: leader (n) · lead (v)

⚠ Common mistake: Leadership is shown in hard weeks, not titles. Companies train it; crises reveal it.

🗣 In spoken American English: Every resume claims it; references prove it.

Register: Formal — work essential.

task /tɑːsk/ noun B1 Work

Meaning: A piece of work that needs to be done, often as part of a bigger job.

Example: Your task is to write the report.

Another example: The app lists today's tasks.

Collocations: a task list · complete the task · task at hand

Synonyms: job, duty, assignment

Word family: tasks (n pl) · task (v — assign)

⚠ Common mistake: A task is ONE unit of work; a job is the whole role. Managers assign tasks; apps track them.

🗣 In spoken American English: 'Task at hand' means the work right in front of you now.

Register: Neutral — work essential.

effort /ˈefərt/ noun B1 Work

Meaning: The physical or mental energy you use to do something; an attempt to achieve something.

Example: The team made a huge effort to finish.

Another example: Learning a language takes effort and time.

Collocations: make an effort · effort to · a lot of effort

Synonyms: energy, attempt, hard work

Antonyms: laziness, ease

Word family: efforts (n pl) · effortless (adj)

⚠ Common mistake: You MAKE an effort (never 'do'). Effortless is its beautiful opposite — mastery looks like it.

🗣 In spoken American English: Teachers praise it above talent on every report card: 'Great effort!'

Register: Neutral — everywhere essential.

pressure /ˈpreʃər/ noun B1 Work

Meaning: The feeling of stress from having too much to do or difficult demands; also the physical force of something pressing.

Example: She works well under pressure.

Another example: The job has a lot of pressure before deadlines.

Collocations: under pressure · work pressure · pressure to

Synonyms: stress, strain, demand

Antonyms: relaxation, calm

Word family: pressures (n pl) · press (v) · pressurize (v)

⚠ Common mistake: 'Under pressure' is the job-interview phrase everyone rehearses. Air and blood have pressure too — physics shares the word.

🗣 In spoken American English: Diamonds and deadlines both claim to be made by it.

Register: Neutral — work essential.

workload /ˈwɜːrkləʊd/ noun B1 Work

Meaning: The amount of work a person has to do in a period of time.

Example: Her workload doubled this month.

Another example: We hired help to share the workload.

Collocations: heavy workload · workload of · share the workload

Synonyms: work amount, duties, load

Word family: workloads (n pl)

⚠ Common mistake: Workload is measurable (hours, tasks); pressure is the FEELING it causes. Managers balance the first to fix the second.

🗣 In spoken American English: The word every honest performance review needs.

Register: Formal — work essential.

overtime /ˈəʊvərtaɪm/ noun B1 Work

Meaning: Time worked beyond the normal working hours, usually paid extra; also the extra period in sports when a game is tied.

Example: He worked ten hours of overtime.

Another example: The game went into overtime.

Collocations: work overtime · overtime pay · hours of overtime

Synonyms: extra hours, overwork

Word family: overtime (uncountable)

⚠ Common mistake: US law pays overtime at 1.5x after 40 hours a week for many jobs — 'time and a half'.

🗣 In spoken American English: December retail and tax season run on it.

Register: Neutral — work essential.

shift /ʃɪft/ noun B1 Work

Meaning: A period of work time in a system where workers change at set times (day shift, night shift); also a small change in position or opinion.

Example: Nurses work twelve-hour shifts.

Another example: He's on the night shift this week.

Collocations: night shift · day shift · shift work

Synonyms: work period, turn, rotation

Word family: shifts (n pl) · shift (v — to move)

⚠ Common mistake: Hospitals, factories, and diners run on shifts. 'Shift' as a verb means move slightly — opinions and gears both shift.

🗣 In spoken American English: The 7-to-7 handover is where hospital stories change narrators.

Register: Neutral — work essential.

profession /prəˈfeʃən/ noun B1 Work

Meaning: A job that needs special training and education, such as medicine, law, or teaching; also all the people working in it.

Example: Teaching is a noble profession.

Another example: She entered the medical profession.

Collocations: the medical profession · a profession · by profession

Synonyms: occupation, career, calling

Word family: professions (n pl) · professional (adj/n)

⚠ Common mistake: Profession promises training + ethics: doctors, lawyers, teachers. 'By profession' answers 'what do you do?' with dignity.

🗣 In spoken American English: Professional is its proud adjective — the standard everyone claims.

Register: Formal — work essential.

challenge /ˈtʃælɪndʒ/ noun B1 Work

Meaning: Something difficult that tests your ability and effort; also an invitation to compete or a questioning of something.

Example: The marathon was a real challenge.

Another example: Every job has its challenges.

Collocations: a big challenge · face a challenge · challenge of

Synonyms: difficulty, test, obstacle

Antonyms: ease, routine

Word family: challenges (n pl) · challenge (v) · challenging (adj)

⚠ Common mistake: Resumes turn problems into challenges ('a challenging role'). As a verb it means question or invite to compete.

🗣 In spoken American English: 'Challenge accepted' — the internet's bravest two words.

Register: Neutral — work essential.