Digital Actions & Devices — B2 Essential Words
Ten essential B2 words (Technology) 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.
sync /sɪŋk/ verb B2 Technology
Meaning: To make data on two devices or systems match and update together (short for synchronize); to happen at the same time in coordination.
Example: Sync your photos to the cloud.
Another example: The calendars sync automatically.
Collocations: sync your phone · sync with · in sync
Synonyms: synchronize, match, update together
Antonyms: diverge
Word family: syncs (v) · syncing (n) · sync (n)
⚠ Common mistake: 'In sync' escaped into friendship language (people thinking alike). Its lip-sync twin performs songs silently for concerts and apps.
🗣 In spoken American English: Its failure ('out of sync') names every broken meeting of minds too.
Register: Neutral — tech essential.
update /ʌpˈdeɪt/ verb / noun B2 Technology
Meaning: To make something more modern or add the newest information; the new version or information itself.
Example: Update the app tonight.
Another example: The update fixes two bugs.
Collocations: update the app · an update · update your profile
Synonyms: upgrade, refresh, revise
Antonyms: downgrade
Word family: updates (n pl) · updated (adj)
⚠ Common mistake: Verb stress on the second syllable (up-DATE); the noun splits its tribe ('an UP-date' also heard). News presenters give 'updates' in its information sense hourly.
🗣 In spoken American English: Its button is procrastination's world championship final.
Register: Neutral — tech essential.
connect /kəˈnekt/ verb B2 Technology
Meaning: To join two or more things together (devices, wires, systems); to link people or ideas; transport connections between trains and flights.
Example: Connect the printer to Wi-Fi.
Another example: The bridge connects the two towns.
Collocations: connect to · connect with · a connecting flight
Synonyms: link, join, plug in
Antonyms: disconnect
Word family: connection (n) · connected (adj) · connectivity (n)
⚠ Common mistake: Flights, friendships, and phones all use it; its opposite DISCONNECT now doubles as a holiday goal ('disconnect to recharge').
🗣 In spoken American English: 'Connect the dots' means see the whole picture — its detective branch.
Register: Neutral — tech essential.
router /ˈraʊtər/ noun B2 Technology
Meaning: The device that sends internet data between your home network and the outside internet, usually giving Wi-Fi to the house.
Example: Restart the router if the Wi-Fi dies.
Another example: The router is in the hallway.
Collocations: the router · Wi-Fi router · router password
Synonyms: modem partner, hub, gateway
Word family: routers (n pl)
⚠ Common mistake: Say ROW-ter in the US (ROOT-er in the UK — a transatlantic password of pronunciation). 'Have you tried turning it off and on?' is its eternal liturgy.
🗣 In spoken American English: Its blinking lights are modern homes' fireplace.
Register: Neutral — tech essential.
cursor /ˈkɜːrsər/ noun B2 Technology
Meaning: The small moving mark (arrow, line, or block) on a computer screen that shows where you are pointing or typing.
Example: Move the cursor to the button.
Another example: The cursor blinked at the empty page.
Collocations: the cursor · cursor position · move the cursor
Synonyms: pointer, arrow, marker
Word family: cursors (n pl)
⚠ Common mistake: Its blinking text form (the I-beam's cousin) is writer's block's visual form — it waits exactly as long as you do.
🗣 In spoken American English: Games turned it into crosshairs and hands of every shape.
Register: Neutral — tech staple.
monitor /ˈmɒnɪtər/ noun B2 Technology
Meaning: The screen that displays pictures and information from a computer; also a person who watches and checks something (a hall monitor, a heart monitor).
Example: The monitor shows the document clearly.
Another example: A second monitor doubles his desk space.
Collocations: the monitor · a computer monitor · monitor screen
Synonyms: screen, display, watcher
Word family: monitors (n pl) · monitor (v)
⚠ Common mistake: Verb twin: doctors MONITOR hearts, teachers monitor halls. Dual-monitor desks are its modern status symbol.
🗣 In spoken American English: Its name means 'one who warns' in Latin — the screen still does that job (error boxes included).
Register: Neutral — tech essential.
wifi /ˈwaɪfaɪ/ noun B2 Technology
Meaning: The wireless system that connects computers, phones, and other devices to the internet without cables, using radio signals in a limited area.
Example: The café offers free Wi-Fi.
Another example: What's the Wi-Fi password?
Collocations: free Wi-Fi · Wi-Fi password · Wi-Fi signal
Synonyms: wireless internet, wireless connection, hotspot
Word family: Wi-Fi (uncountable) · wifi (adj)
⚠ Common mistake: It is NOT short for 'wireless fidelity' — a famous myth; the name was invented just to sound friendly. Its password is the world's most-requested sentence.
🗣 In spoken American English: Its fan-shaped icon is the universal welcome sign of cafés.
Register: Neutral — tech essential.
bluetooth /ˈbluːtuːθ/ noun B2 Technology
Meaning: A wireless technology that connects devices over short distances without cables — phones to headphones, cars, speakers, and keyboards.
Example: Connect the headphones by Bluetooth.
Another example: Bluetooth is off on my phone.
Collocations: by Bluetooth · Bluetooth headphones · Bluetooth connection
Synonyms: wireless link, pairing, short-range radio
Word family: Bluetooth (uncountable)
⚠ Common mistake: Named after a Viking king, Harald Bluetooth, who united tribes — the inventors borrowed him to unite devices. Its symbol mixes his initials in runes.
🗣 In spoken American English: Pairing it in rental cars is travel's tiny boss fight.
Register: Neutral — tech essential.
touchscreen /ˈtʌtʃskriːn/ noun B2 Technology
Meaning: A screen that you control by touching it with your fingers instead of using a mouse or keyboard.
Example: The ticket machine has a touchscreen.
Another example: Kids learn touchscreens before buttons.
Collocations: a touchscreen · touchscreen phone · the touchscreen
Synonyms: touch display, screen, panel
Word family: touchscreens (n pl) · touchscreen (adj)
⚠ Common mistake: It killed the keypad in a decade. Its smudges are the fingerprints of the information age — every screen tells its day by them.
🗣 In spoken American English: Ticket machines and toddlers' hands meet on it equally.
Register: Neutral — tech essential.
icon /ˈaɪkɒn/ noun B2 Technology
Meaning: A small picture or symbol on a screen that represents a program, file, or action, which you click or tap to open it; also a famous person or object that represents an idea (a fashion icon).
Example: Tap the camera icon.
Another example: The icon is on the home screen.
Collocations: the icon · an app icon · click the icon
Synonyms: symbol, picture button, image
Word family: icons (n pl) · iconic (adj)
⚠ Common mistake: Greek for 'image' — religious paintings bore the name first. Phones arrange it in grids that owners read faster than words.
🗣 In spoken American English: Its adjective ICONIC crowns everything from handbags to skylines.
Register: Neutral — tech essential.
Practice — Digital Actions & Devices
Flashcards
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