Environment & Planet — B2 Essential Words

waste /weɪst/ noun / verb B2 Environment

Meaning: Material that is not needed and is thrown away; to use something badly or more than necessary.

Example: Factories must reduce their plastic waste.

Another example: Don't waste water — turn off the tap.

Collocations: plastic waste · waste time · food waste

Synonyms: rubbish, trash, garbage

Antonyms: resource, savings

Word family: wasteful (adj) · wastage (n)

⚠ Common mistake: Waste (noun) = trash; waste (verb) = use badly. 'A waste of time/money' is the key phrase for useless spending.

🗣 In spoken American English: Americans sort talk: trash (home), garbage (food waste), waste (formal/industrial).

Register: Neutral — environment and everyday life.

protect /prəˈtekt/ verb B2 Environment

Meaning: To keep someone or something safe from harm or danger.

Example: Laws protect forests from illegal cutting.

Another example: Sunscreen protects your skin.

Collocations: protect the environment · protect against · protect wildlife

Synonyms: defend, guard, shield

Antonyms: endanger, harm

Word family: protection (n) · protective (adj) · protector (n)

⚠ Common mistake: Protect something FROM danger; protect someone AGAINST risk. Both patterns are correct.

🗣 In spoken American English: In slogans: 'Protect our planet' — the verb of every environmental campaign.

Register: Neutral — science, law, daily life.

damage /ˈdæmɪdʒ/ noun / verb B2 Environment

Meaning: Harm or injury that makes something less good or less valuable; to cause such harm.

Example: The storm caused serious damage to houses.

Another example: Smoking damages your lungs.

Collocations: cause damage · damage to · serious damage

Synonyms: harm, injury, destruction

Antonyms: repair, benefit

Word family: damaged (adj) · damaging (adj)

⚠ Common mistake: Damage is uncountable: 'much damage', never 'a damage'. The pattern is damage TO something.

🗣 In spoken American English: News formula: 'caused $2 million in damage' — money + damage is the standard report line.

Register: Neutral — news essential.

reduce /rɪˈdjuːs/ verb B2 Environment

Meaning: To make something smaller in size, amount, or price.

Example: We must reduce plastic use at home.

Another example: The store reduced prices by 20 percent.

Collocations: reduce waste · reduce prices · reduce speed

Synonyms: cut, lower, decrease

Antonyms: increase, raise

Word family: reduction (n) · reduced (adj)

⚠ Common mistake: Reduce BY an amount (reduce by half) and reduce TO a level (reduce to zero). Both patterns matter.

🗣 In spoken American English: The environment trio is 'reduce, reuse, recycle' — reduce always comes first.

Register: Neutral — business and environment staple.

resource /rɪˈsɔːrs/ noun B2 Environment

Meaning: Something useful that a country, company, or person has and can use, such as water, money, or time.

Example: Water is the desert's scarcest resource.

Another example: The project needs more resources.

Collocations: natural resources · human resources · limited resources

Synonyms: supply, asset, material

Word family: resourceful (adj) · resources (n pl)

⚠ Common mistake: Resource ≠ source: resources are useful supplies you use; a source is where something comes from.

🗣 In spoken American English: 'Human resources' (HR) is the company department for hiring — a resource phrase every worker knows.

Register: Neutral to formal — economics and environment.

global /ˈɡləʊbəl/ adjective B2 Environment

Meaning: Relating to the whole world.

Example: Climate change is a global problem.

Another example: The company has global offices.

Collocations: global warming · global problem · global market

Synonyms: worldwide, international

Antonyms: local, national

Word family: globe (n) · globally (adv) · globalization (n)

⚠ Common mistake: Global vs local is the classic contrast pair in essays: think globally, act locally.

🗣 In spoken American English: 'Global warming' is the fixed phrase; news now also says 'climate change' for the wider effects.

Register: Neutral to formal — news and academic writing.

temperature /ˈtemprətʃər/ noun B2 Environment

Meaning: How hot or cold something is, measured in degrees.

Example: The temperature reached 100 degrees in Phoenix.

Another example: She has a high temperature — call the doctor.

Collocations: high temperature · room temperature · temperature rises

Synonyms: heat, climate

Word family: temperatures (n pl)

⚠ Common mistake: A person 'has a temperature' means a FEVER in everyday speech. Weather temperature takes no article.

🗣 In spoken American English: Americans use Fahrenheit: 70s are pleasant, 90s are hot, 32 is freezing — learn the scale.

Register: Neutral — weather, health, science.

drought /draʊt/ noun B2 Environment

Meaning: A long period with very little or no rain, causing water shortages.

Example: The drought dried up the farms' wells.

Another example: Texas suffered a severe drought last summer.

Collocations: severe drought · drought conditions · years of drought

Synonyms: dry spell, water shortage

Antonyms: flood, rainfall

Word family: droughts (n pl)

⚠ Common mistake: Drought is pronounced DROUT (like out). It is countable for events: two droughts.

🗣 In spoken American English: Weather news pairs it with its opposite: 'droughts and floods' in the same climate story.

Register: Neutral — weather and farming staple.

species /ˈspiːʃiːz/ noun B2 Environment

Meaning: A group of animals or plants that are the same type and can breed together.

Example: This forest has 300 species of birds.

Another example: Some species are in danger of disappearing.

Collocations: bird species · endangered species · species of

Synonyms: type, kind, breed

Word family: species (same form singular and plural)

⚠ Common mistake: Species looks plural but is both: one species, many species — never 'a specie'.

🗣 In spoken American English: Science writing counts species constantly: 'a species of frog' is the standard pattern.

Register: Formal — science and environment reports.

habitat /ˈhæbɪtæt/ noun B2 Environment

Meaning: The natural place where an animal or plant usually lives.

Example: Wetlands are a habitat for many birds.

Another example: Destroying habitats pushes species toward extinction.

Collocations: natural habitat · habitat loss · wildlife habitat

Synonyms: home (natural), environment (living place)

Word family: habitats (n pl) · inhabit (v)

⚠ Common mistake: Habitat is the SCIENTIFIC word for an animal's home — documentaries use it in every episode.

🗣 In spoken American English: 'Habitat loss' is the key phrase in conservation news: animals lose homes, not houses.

Register: Formal — science and conservation.